Media: Trump secretly flew from Türkiye on decoy aircraft

U.S. President Donald Trump was secretly transferred to a smaller military aircraft and flown out of Türkiye last month amid an Iranian assassination threat, while the White House publicly indicated that he had departed aboard the former Air Force One, sources told The Washington Post.

The covert operation took place on July 8, following Trump’s participation in a NATO summit in Ankara. According to material reviewed by the Post, a U.S. official familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of Trump’s travel, the president was moved from the Boeing 747 used as a decoy to a U.S. Air Force C-32A.

Trump had initially boarded the former Air Force One in view of television cameras at Ankara airport. Minutes later, he was secretly transferred to the smaller aircraft using an airport catering truck normally used to deliver meals and other supplies to aircraft before departure, according to the sources and corroborating material reviewed by the newspaper.

The Boeing 747 then departed with journalists and some White House staff members who believed Trump was aboard. A U.S. official described the aircraft as a “decoy.”

The operation came as the United States had resumed military strikes against Iran following the breakdown of negotiations between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending their months-long conflict.

The White House had said Trump departed Türkiye aboard the former Air Force One, which he had announced he would use instead of the newer Boeing 747-8 that transported him to the country. The newer aircraft, provided to the United States by Qatar, has faced questions over its security, and Trump later said it would undergo additional upgrades.

The use of a decoy aircraft has precedent in U.S. presidential travel. In March 2000, President Bill Clinton used a similar security measure during a visit to Pakistan, disembarking from a plain white aircraft that had followed Air Force One.

The details of Trump’s July flight were not previously reported. The sources cited by the Post spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to discuss the operation.

By Sabina Mammadli