Trump to make first flight aboard Qatar-gifted Air Force One

Donald Trump will make his first flight this week aboard the new Air Force One, a Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar that has raised ethical and security concerns, the White House announced, according to AFP.

The U.S. president will use the aircraft on Wednesday to travel to North Dakota for an event marking the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, a White House official told AFP, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

Earlier this month, Trump praised the massive aircraft, with its white fuselage, broad red stripe, and dark blue underside, calling it "a flying White House with an unprecedented level of luxury."

The aircraft, donated by Qatar and valued at several hundred million dollars, has sparked major ethical and constitutional questions, particularly over the limits on gifts a U.S. president may receive from foreign governments.

It has also raised security concerns because the plane was previously owned by a foreign government and is now intended to serve as the highly sensitive presidential aircraft.

Trump has been determined to replace the presidential aircraft since his first term, even keeping a scale model of the redesigned plane in his preferred color scheme on the coffee table in the Oval Office.

He has argued that it would be "stupid" not to accept such a gift from Qatar, a transfer that the Pentagon formally accepted last year.

Photo: White House