Air Force One Diverts Over Atlantic, Forcing Switch to Backup Jet

The Air Force One jet carrying President Donald Trump to a high-stakes summit in Switzerland diverted over the Atlantic late Jan. 20 and returned to Joint Base Andrews due to an issue with the Boeing VC-25 aircraft, temporarily delaying his trip to Europe and forcing the president to use a backup plane, an Air Force C-32.

The VC-25 is commonly known by its callsign Air Force One, which applies to any Air Force aircraft the president travels in. With Trump aboard, the plane experienced a “minor electrical issue” shortly after takeoff, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Lights in the press cabin went out briefly shortly after takeoff, according to a pool reporter aboard the plane.

Trump boarded the original Air Force One at 9:34 p.m. At around 10:15 p.m., flight tracking data showed the aircraft making a 180-degree turn back towards the East Coast. By 11:07 p.m. Eastern time, Air Force One touched down back at Joint Base Andrews.

In a statement, the White House said the move was made “out of an abundance of caution” and that Trump would continue on his travels to address the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort town of Davos. Trump was scheduled to address the summit at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time on Jan. 21, as he has roiled the geopolitical landscape with a bid to acquire Greenland.

Just after midnight on Jan. 21, Trump took off aboard a C-32 bound for Zurich, where the plane landed after a roughly 7-hour flight.

The 89th Airlift Wing, based at Joint Base Andrews, flies the Air Force’s executive airlift fleet, including both the presidential VC-25s and C-32s. The callsign Air Force One typically belongs to one of the wing’s two iconic VC-25As, highly modified Boeing 747s, which are used only to transport the president except on rare special occasions. The aircraft are flown by the wing’s Presidential Airlift Group.

Trump has expressed his frustration with the age of the VC-25 747s, which entered service in 1990.

The White House offered no further details on the electrical issue. 

Boeing signed a deal in 2018 to convert two 747-8s to become the next “Air Force One” at a cost of $3.9 billion. Built for a Russian airline but never delivered, the jets were originally to be completed by 2024. The Air Force now expects delivery of the first VC-25B presidential transport by mid-2028, months ahead of its last official projection, amid moves to slash the delayed delivery time.

Trump’s frustration drove the unprecedented decision to accept another 747 from the government of Qatar. Modifications to that plane are underway, with the aim that it can temporarily serve as Air Force One, assuming it can be delivered while Trump is still in office. Trump has suggested the plane may be able to fly this year. The Air Force has released no details on the planned modifications or their cost, saying only that it has diverted unspent funds from the Sentinel ICBM program for this purpose and that further details remain secretive. Work on the modifications to the Qatari plane, however, began late last year.

The C-32 is also used by the Vice President as Air Force Two, by the Secretary of State, or the Defense Secretary on some trips.

Over the past year, the Air Force’s executive airlift fleet has experienced several problems. An Air Force C-32 carrying Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had to divert to RAF Mildenhall in England while flying from Brussels to Andrews last October due to a cracked windshield. The aircraft, tail 98-0002, is among the Air Force’s oldest C-32s. It marked the second time an Air Force C-32 carrying a high-ranking cabinet official has had to divert due to a cracked windshield last year. In February, a plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio ran into a similar problem after taking off from Andrews as the chief diplomat was flying to a security conference in Europe.

At 9:15 p.m., roughly one hour before Air Force One turned around, Trump stepped onto the White House’s South Lawn to board Marine One to Joint Base Andrews. “This will be an interesting trip,” Trump told reporters. “I have no idea what’s going to happen.”