Donald Trump takes first flight on Qatar‑gifted Air Force One
President Donald Trump flew on the newly retrofitted Boeing 747‑8 Air Force One for the first time on July 1, 2026, traveling to North Dakota for events at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.
President Donald Trump took his first flight on the new Air Force One, a retrofitted Boeing 747‑8, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, after boarding the aircraft at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The aircraft, a gift from the government of Qatar, is reported to be worth about $400 million.
According to the South China Morning Post, the plane officially joined the Air Force One fleet last month and underwent extensive modifications at U.S. taxpayers’ expense, including security upgrades, before being cleared for use.
Trump used the aircraft to travel to North Dakota, where he attended events at the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. He said the United States could not build a plane like the aircraft and expressed that he was excited about the first flight.
The Dawn reported that Trump is 80 years old.
This account was written only from facts that survived Augur's
corroboration pass — 7 corroborated across opposed news blocs,
0 contested (attributed to both sides), 4
single-source (attributed). Nothing was added; no significance was inferred.
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