Air Force One retirement became official this week as top White House officials bid farewell on Thursday, June 18, 2026, to the jets that have carried American presidents for more than 35 years. The send-off comes as the Trump administration prepares to replace the aging Boeing 747-200B aircraft with a Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, now designated the VC-25B Bridge aircraft, which Air Force officials confirmed will soon join the active executive airlift fleet. The transition closes the book on planes that have flown presidents since 1990, even as the donated replacement continues to generate bipartisan scrutiny over cost, ethics, and security.
The Farewell: 35 Years of Presidential Service Ends
Top White House officials on Thursday morning bade farewell to a jet that has carried U.S. presidents around the world for 35 years, as the Trump administration prepares to replace it with a Boeing 747 donated by Qatar to serve as Air Force One.
The term “Air Force One” technically refers to any US Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In practice, there are only two such planes in use, both modified Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that have been in service for more than 35 years and have had recurring maintenance issues.
The other VC-25 hasn’t been seen flying since it landed at Majors Airport in Greenville, Texas, on June 2, according to open-source flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange. That airport is the same location where the donated Qatari jet has been undergoing conversion for use as the next Air Force One, marking a quiet but symbolically significant end to the older aircraft’s active service.
What Is the VC-25B Bridge Aircraft?
The aircraft now preparing to enter presidential service carries a specific Air Force designation that reflects its intended role as a transitional solution ahead of Boeing’s long-delayed permanent replacement program.
An Air Force official confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the “VC-25B Bridge aircraft will soon join the active executive airlift fleet alongside the VC-25A and C-32.” The Air Force has been preparing the donated Qatari jet to be used as the primary Air Force One at the Texas facility since February.
CNN previously reported that the Qatari jet was expected to be delivered “no later than summer 2026.” The modified Qatari jet last flew on June 10, for a short circle flight landing back at Majors Airport, the same place it took off from, according to flight-tracking data, suggesting final preparations were nearing completion in the days before Thursday’s farewell ceremony.
The Qatari Gift: A Year of Scrutiny and Controversy
The donated aircraft has not arrived without significant political and security debate, a dimension of the story that has persisted throughout the more than year-long process of accepting and modifying the jet.
The transition comes after over a year of scrutiny and skepticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, as well as some security officials who criticized Trump for accepting the expensive gift and worried about security risks associated with the arrangement. The Pentagon formally accepted the Boeing 747, described by some as a “flying palace,” from the Qatari government in May 2025.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement at the time: “The secretary of defense has accepted a Boeing 747 from Qatar in accordance with all federal rules and regulations. The Department of Defense will work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States.” The Trump administration’s position has consistently been that receiving the jet is legal and acceptable, while critics, including some Democrats, have characterized the arrangement as a potential national security concern or an attempt by Qatar to gain favor with the administration.
The New Paint Job: Trump’s Preferred Color Scheme Returns
Beyond the security and ethics debate, the cosmetic details of the new presidential aircraft have generated their own significant public attention, connecting to a long-running dispute over Air Force One’s visual design.
Plane spotters saw the aircraft with a new paint job selected by the president earlier this month. The new planes will be red, white, gold and dark blue, a color scheme proposed during Trump’s first term in office but reversed by the Biden administration in favor of a more traditional light blue and white Air Force One paint job.
When Trump was reelected, his preferred color scheme was returned to the planes. The reversal reflects how directly presidential preference has shaped the visual identity of the aircraft across two different Trump administrations, with the design choice serving as a recurring point of political and aesthetic discussion throughout both terms.
What “Extensive Modifications” Actually Means
The process of converting a commercial-derivative jet into a vehicle suitable for presidential transport involves security and communications work that goes well beyond a standard aircraft refit, according to officials familiar with the program.
The plane must undergo extensive modifications before President Trump can board it, though the precise details of those modifications are classified. A retired senior military official familiar with Air Force One previously explained the scope of the work required: “You would want to check the airplane out completely, strip it down, check for bugs, things like that, harden it to make sure nobody could hijack the electronics on the airplane. The ability for the president to command and control his military in the worst days, that takes a lot.”
In May 2025, the Trump administration announced it was preparing to receive the Boeing 747-8 from the Qatari royal family, with upgrades beginning the following September. Experts cited by NPR at the time of the announcement estimated that retrofitting a plane to presidential security standards would normally entail at least a few years of work, a timeline considerably longer than the roughly one year the conversion has actually taken.
Boeing’s Delayed Replacement: Why a Gift Jet Was Needed at All
The underlying reason the administration pursued an alternative aircraft at all traces back to a long-running delay in Boeing’s contracted replacement program for the existing Air Force One fleet.
Boeing’s contract to replace two Air Force One jets had an original delivery date of 2022. An Air Force official earlier in 2026 suggested that the first plane could potentially be delivered by 2027, a year or two earlier than Boeing had previously predicted, though the latest delivery timeline provided by the Air Force put the date at mid-2028.
Trump had expressed frustration at the continued delays from Boeing on delivering the new Air Force One, which the manufacturer has delayed at least until 2029 by some earlier projections. Separately, the Air Force announced plans in 2026 to purchase two Boeing 747-8 aircraft from German carrier Lufthansa to support the longer-term presidential airlift program, indicating the Qatari jet is understood within the Air Force as a genuine bridge solution rather than a permanent replacement for Boeing’s contracted aircraft.
Trump’s Own Complaints About the Aging Aircraft
President Trump has been vocal about his frustration with the current aircraft’s age, using public appearances to draw attention to both the maintenance issues and the upcoming replacement.
“I leave now and get onto a 42-year-old Boeing. But new ones are coming. New ones are coming,” Trump said during an event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in 2025, expressing frustration about returning from a Middle East trip aboard the aging aircraft.
A minor mechanical issue experienced by Air Force One during a trip to Davos, Switzerland, was separately cited by the White House as validation of the need for a replacement. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital at the time: “The minor mechanical issue proves that President Trump was right again. The new Air Force One will be a welcome donation to the United States Air Force, not just for the President, but for the entire Air Force One crew.”
What Happens to the Old Air Force One Jets Now?
With the VC-25B Bridge aircraft preparing to join active service, questions remain about the long-term disposition of the current Air Force One fleet, which has carried presidents since 1990.
Trump has said he would not use the donated plane personally after he leaves office, though he has expressed interest in eventually parking it in his presidential library. “I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” Trump previously said regarding the gift.
The existing VC-25A aircraft are expected to continue serving alongside the new Bridge aircraft and the C-32 fleet during the transition period, rather than being immediately retired from all government use, even as their role as the primary presidential transport comes to an end with Thursday’s farewell ceremony.
Latest Updates
The farewell ceremony for the aging Air Force One jets took place Thursday morning, June 18, 2026. CNN confirmed the full details of the farewell event, the over-year-long scrutiny from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, the aircraft’s location at Majors Airport in Greenville, Texas, the new red, white, gold, and dark blue paint scheme, and that the modified Qatari jet last flew on June 10. The Washington Post confirmed that White House officials bade farewell to the 35-year-old jets as the administration prepares to accept the new aircraft. Additional reporting via MSN and the Washington Examiner confirmed the official VC-25B Bridge aircraft designation and Air Force confirmation that it will soon join the active executive airlift fleet alongside the VC-25A and C-32.
Full sources: CNN | Yahoo News | Washington Post
Broader Implications
The retirement of Air Force One’s longtime jets after 35 years of service marks the end of an era for presidential air travel, but the transition to the Qatari-donated replacement remains entangled with the same ethical and security questions that have followed the gift since it was first announced in 2025. Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns ranging from the appropriateness of accepting a foreign government’s expensive gift to the security implications of operating a previously foreign-owned aircraft as the nation’s most sensitive piece of presidential infrastructure.
The classified nature of the modifications required to bring the jet up to presidential security standards means the public has limited visibility into exactly how thoroughly the aircraft has been hardened against the surveillance and security risks that experts flagged when the gift was first proposed. The roughly one-year conversion timeline, notably faster than the multi-year process experts initially estimated would be required, has itself become a point of scrutiny among those skeptical of the arrangement.
For the broader Air Force One replacement program, the Qatari jet’s role as an explicitly designated “Bridge aircraft” alongside Boeing’s continued, repeatedly delayed contract work signals that this transition is understood even within the Air Force as an interim solution rather than the final chapter in modernizing presidential air transport.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is Air Force One being retired in 2026?
The current Air Force One jets, modified Boeing 747-200B aircraft, have been in service for more than 35 years and have experienced recurring maintenance issues. The Trump administration is replacing them with a Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, now designated the VC-25B Bridge aircraft, while Boeing’s contracted permanent replacement remains delayed until at least 2028.
2. What is the VC-25B Bridge aircraft?
The VC-25B Bridge aircraft is the Air Force’s designation for the Boeing 747-8 jet donated by Qatar’s royal family in May 2025. It is intended to serve as a transitional Air Force One while Boeing continues work on its long-delayed permanent replacement contract, which has a latest projected delivery date of mid-2028.
3. Why did Qatar donate a jet to be used as Air Force One?
Qatar’s royal family offered the Boeing 747-8 to the United States in 2025 amid continued delays in Boeing’s contracted Air Force One replacement program. The Pentagon formally accepted the jet in May 2025. The arrangement has drawn bipartisan criticism over ethics and security concerns, though the Trump administration maintains the gift was accepted “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.”
4. What modifications were made to the Qatari jet before it could be used as Air Force One?
The Air Force has performed extensive but classified security modifications since beginning upgrades in September 2025, including hardening the aircraft’s electronics against surveillance and ensuring secure command and control capabilities for the president. The jet also received a new red, white, gold, and dark blue paint scheme reflecting Trump’s preferred Air Force One livery.
5. When will Boeing deliver its own Air Force One replacement?
Boeing’s original contract had a 2022 delivery date, but the latest Air Force timeline projects a mid-2028 delivery, with some earlier estimates suggesting Boeing had delayed delivery until 2029. The Qatari-donated VC-25B Bridge aircraft is intended to serve as a stopgap until Boeing’s contracted jets are ready.
