(AFP) – The Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar to serve as Donald Trump’s presidential jet experienced a takeoff delay Wednesday as inspectors checked one of its inflatable slides used for emergency evacuations.
“They’re checking the slide over here, and I think it’s going to take 15 minutes,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac as he prepared to travel to Dallas, Texas, for a Republican Party gathering. The plane’s safety has been the subject of recurring questions, and the issue came to a head during a recent dramatic incident in Turkey, where Trump secretly switched to a different aircraft amid security concerns.
Asked by an AFP reporter whether Trump was sure the jet was safe, the 80-year-old president responded: “Yeah I am, or I wouldn’t be on it.” Upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, Trump remained on his helicopter for an unusually long time before finally boarding Air Force One, the name given to an airplane carrying the US head of state. This gave reporters time to observe an inflatable slide deployed on the right side of the jet, as well as the former presidential plane being repositioned from its hangar onto the tarmac, with its boarding bridges extended.
The current Air Force One plane took off after the delay, with the president aboard. The Qatari plane had been in the spotlight in July, when Trump decided at the last minute not to fly on the jet as he left the NATO summit in Turkey. He then pretended to board the old Air Force One, only to secretly switch planes by hiding in a refueling truck, due to security threats.
Trump recently announced that work to enhance security measures on the new jet would begin in October and take longer than expected. The Qatari royal family donated the luxurious jet last year after Trump complained about the condition of the two older Air Force One aircraft, which feature a distinctive white, silver and robin’s egg blue color scheme and have been in service since 1990.
The donated plane, valued at several hundred million dollars, has raised major ethical and constitutional questions regarding gifts a US president may receive from foreign governments. The jet has already been refitted by the military and is to be used until Boeing delivers two new aircraft in the coming years. Trump has indicated that he intends to keep the Qatari plane for his future presidential museum.
© 2024 AFP
