United States (US) President Donald Trump was secretly flown from Turkiye to Britain on a military aircraft after officials determined that a threat against him from Iran was credible, The New York Times (NYT) reported, quoting two senior US officials familiar with the operation.

Trump was publicly seen boarding an older version of Air Force One on July 8 after the NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] summit in Turkiye, leading journalists travelling with him to believe that he would fly to Britain aboard the aircraft.

Instead, he was secretly taken off the plane through the opposite side using an airport catering container and transported to a third aircraft, officials quoted by the Times said.

The aircraft carrying Trump was a C-32A, a military version of a Boeing 757. The older Air Force One then flew to Britain with the journalists on board, while reporters and some White House staff were not told that Trump was no longer travelling with them.

The operation was arranged within hours after officials determined that the threat against Trump was credible.

A small group of senior US government officials was involved in the plan, including General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Trump had arrived in Turkiye aboard a luxury Boeing 747-8 gifted by Qatar. He had publicly said he would leave the country on the older Air Force One instead, telling reporters that he was making the switch for “old time’s sake”.

The decision had partly followed concerns over the security of the newer aircraft, which had not been equipped with all the defensive capabilities of the older presidential jet.

The threat from Iran, however, was not specific to the Qatari aircraft and Trump was considered a target regardless of which plane he was travelling on.

The older Air Force One therefore served as a decoy while Trump travelled separately on the C-32A.

The older Air Force One landed at Mildenhall military base in England. Before reporters saw Trump, he was brought from the third aircraft to the older Air Force One and boarded through a different entrance.

Trump then stepped off the aircraft through its upper left-side door and walked across the tarmac to the Qatari-donated jet. He and the press pool then boarded the newer aircraft and flew to Washington.

The operation left journalists who had travelled aboard the older Air Force One unknowingly serving as decoys.