Air Force One
The White House

Thirty minutes into Tuesday night's transatlantic crossing, the lights went out in the press cabin of Air Force One. Then the plane turned around.

President Donald Trump was somewhere over the Atlantic, bound for the World Economic Forum in Davos, when crew members spotted what the White House would later describe as a 'minor electrical issue'. They banked hard and headed back to Maryland. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the call was made 'out of an abundance of caution', CBS News reported.

The plane touched down at Joint Base Andrews at 11:07 p.m. Eastern Time. No one explained the blackout.

Midnight Plane Swap

Trump switched to a backup plane, an Air Force C-32 - basically a 757 the president uses for shorter domestic hops.

The backup jet lifted off shortly after midnight, putting the President more than two hours behind schedule. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, already on the ground in Switzerland, warned forum attendees to expect Trump roughly three hours late. Al Jazeera noted the smaller plane would carry the Air Force One call sign under standard protocol.

Before leaving the White House lawn that evening, Trump had offered a cryptic preview. 'This will be an interesting trip,' he said. 'I have no idea what is going to happen.'

A Fleet Showing Its Age

Both Boeing 747-200B aircraft serving as Air Force One have been flying presidential missions since September 1990. George H.W. Bush was the first to board tail number 28000. That makes the fleet 35 years old.

As per CNN, replacement jets were originally due in 2024. The US Air Force has since pushed delivery of the first new aircraft to 2027, with the second coming in 2028. Boeing's fixed-price contract, signed in 2018 at $3.9 billion (£3.2 billion), has ballooned amid manufacturing problems.

The jets pack 238 miles of shielded wiring, antimissile countermeasures, and communications gear that lets a president direct military operations from 40,000 feet. But keeping hardware from the Reagan era airworthy gets harder every year. And more expensive.

Leavitt Takes a Shot at the Qatari Gift

Aboard the troubled jet, Leavitt couldn't resist.

'That Qatari jet is sounding much better right now,' she told the press pool, CBC News reported.

The Qatari royal family presented Trump with a Boeing 747-8 last year, a gift valued at around $400 million (£324 million). It's currently undergoing security modifications. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink warned in June that retrofitting could cost several hundred million dollars more before the plane meets presidential standards. No timeline has been set.

Bad Timing With Europe

The mechanical trouble came at an awkward moment. Trump's Davos trip was already generating friction with European allies over his renewed push to acquire Greenland from Denmark.

Days before departure, he threatened 10 per cent tariffs on eight NATO countries unless they backed American control of the Arctic territory. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the move a 'mistake' during Tuesday's sessions. Emmanuel Macron floated retaliation, the Associated Press reported.

Trump was scheduled to address the forum at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday. Greenland was expected to dominate its meetings.

The leader of the free world still flies on aircraft that first carried a president when the Berlin Wall was standing. Tuesday night made that painfully clear.

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