President Donald Trump reportedly slipped out of Air Force One through an airport catering truck during a covert security maneuver in Turkey, allowing him to board a smaller military aircraft while another presidential jet served as a decoy, as reported by Fox News.
The operation unfolded at Ankara airport on July 8 after intelligence officials identified what was described as a credible Iranian threat against Trump.
The president was leaving a NATO summit amid heightened security concerns following American military strikes against Iranian targets earlier in the summer.
Trump had arrived in Ankara aboard a new Boeing 747- 8 donated by Qatar.
Security officials, however, apparently decided that a very public departure aboard the highly recognizable aircraft would provide hostile forces with too much useful information.
According to reporting by The Washington Post, Trump first climbed the stairs of the older blue and white Boeing 747 traditionally associated with Air Force One.
He waved to cameras and entered the cabin, giving reporters and observers every reason to believe the president was aboard.
Once outside public view, Trump and a small group of aides reportedly moved through an exit on the opposite side of the aircraft.
An airport catering truck had been raised to the door, providing cover for a maneuver that looked ordinary from a distance.
The truck was then lowered and driven across the tarmac to a waiting Air Force C 32A, a modified Boeing 757.
Trump quietly boarded that aircraft while much of the White House staff and traveling press remained focused on the larger jet.
Reporters and staff members boarded the older Boeing 747 believing Trump was inside.
They were instructed to close their window shades before takeoff, a request that now appears to have been part of the larger effort to conceal the president’s actual location.
The decoy aircraft initially appeared on radar without a call sign, according to flight tracking information reviewed by the newspaper.
It later began using the AF1 call sign during the flight, even though the president was reportedly traveling aboard the smaller military plane.
Trump flew secretly aboard the C 32A to RAF Mildenhall in England, arriving shortly before the decoy aircraft.
Exactly how the president transferred back to the larger plane after landing in Britain was not disclosed, which is probably the point of a successful security operation.
At approximately 10:56 p.m., Trump appeared before television cameras and descended the external stairs of the older presidential aircraft.
Minutes later, he boarded the new Qatar-donated Boeing 747- 8 for the return flight to Washington.
Staff members and reporters also transferred to the newer aircraft before departure.
The carefully staged movements allowed security officials to protect Trump without publicly revealing the extent of the Iranian threat or the precise route used to counter it.
When reporters asked why the window shades had been ordered closed in Turkey, Trump offered his characteristically blunt explanation.
“You’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.”
Trump also said he faces threats constantly and described himself as “Number One” on Iran’s target list.
Given the reported intelligence and the elaborate precautions taken in Ankara, that concern was clearly more than the usual Washington chatter dressed up as national security drama.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the new aircraft had been equipped with advanced security measures intended to protect the president and his staff.
He added, “As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.”
The Air Force also defended the safety and capabilities of the new presidential aircraft.
Officials said mission security, communications, and operational requirements remained the priority, while some less frequently used capabilities were adjusted during the aircraft’s preparation.
The reported maneuver showed how quickly presidential security planning can change when intelligence points to a specific foreign threat.
Iran has repeatedly treated Trump as a prime enemy, and American officials were not about to gamble his safety for the convenience of photographers, flight watchers, or an impatient press corps.
