White House staff bids farewell to planes used as Air Force One for more than 35 years

By Haley Britzky, Alexandra Skores, CNN

Washington, DC (CNN) — After an early Thursday morning landing near Washington, two White House officials posted social media farewells to the heavily modified Boeing 747-200, which has flown as Air Force One since 1990, as the first of three planes being modified for the role is set to be delivered soon.

“The last ride,” White House communications director Steve Cheung said sharing a photo of the plane – which the Air Force calls a VC-25A – in a post on X. “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted a video of the aircraft and wrote he has “been fortunate to fly around the world on this iconic plane for 5 1/2 years — of the 35 years it has been serving US presidents… THANK YOU…”

Three 747-800s are being modified as VC-25Bs to fill the role of Air Force One, including a luxury jet donated by the government of Qatar to bridge the gap between the old planes and the two additional planes Boeing is modifying that won’t be done for roughly two more years.

It’s not clear what is happening to the old VC-25As, as the Air Force noted in a statement they will remain part of the fleet.

“The VC-25B Bridge aircraft will soon join the active executive airlift fleet alongside the VC-25A and C-32,” an Air Force spokesperson told CNN. The C-32 is a modified Boeing 757, which often flies the vice president, first lady, cabinet members and occasionally fills in as Air Force One.

CNN previously reported that the Qatari jet was expected to be delivered “no later than summer 2026.” It 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 vulnerabilities.

The plane had to undergo significant changes to operate as a suitable replacement for Air Force One, CNN previously reported. US spy and security agencies were expected to have the aircraft stripped down and rebuilt to include the necessary security and communications equipment.

The current VC-25A fleet is more than three decades old and has been long ridiculed by Trump, who wants new planes.

Tail number 29000 landed at Joint Base Andrews Thursday morning after carrying Trump on his trip to Europe.

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. The airport is the same location where the donated Qatari jet is being converted for use as the next Air Force One.

The Air Force began modifying the donated jet last summer.

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 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 ADS-B exchange.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink previously told lawmakers that it would “probably” cost the Air Force less than $400 million to retrofit the donated aircraft.

An Air Force release last month said the plane had officially completed modifications and was “on schedule to roll out in a new red, white and blue livery this summer.”

“Ultimately, the Bridge aircraft fulfills a critical short-term requirement, guaranteeing the Air Force continues to execute its no-fail mission for the commander in chief while laying a rock-solid foundation for the future,” the release said.

It’s not clear when the aircraft will be brought to Washington and what will happen to the two old planes when it enters service.

The vintage aircraft, however, have a storied history, visiting countries around the world from Iraq and Cuba to China and Australia.

George H.W. Bush first flew on the aircraft in 1990 on a trip to Kansas.

On September 11, 2001, former President George W. Bush was interrupted during an event at a Florida elementary school after the attack on the World Trade Center South Tower in New York City and was hurried to one of the VC-25A planes. It flew the president to an Air Force base near Shreveport, Louisiana, and then to a secure bunker on an Air Force base in Nebraska.

It later transported the former president to Washington, DC, where he addressed the nation hours later.

It also once flew Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush to Israel for the funeral of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, according to the Air Force.

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CNN’s Aaron Cooper contributed to this report.