Air Force One turned back as it carried Trump to Davos 

United States President Donald Trump’s plane has been forced to make a U-turn about an hour after departing its base for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Air Force One, carrying the president, his entourage and reporters, returned to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland shortly after 11:00pm (04:00 GMT) on Tuesday night, owing to a “minor electrical issue”, said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Trump resumed his journey to the forum, where he is due to hold meetings with several world leaders and deliver a speech, on a smaller Boeing 757.

The plane, which is normally used for domestic trips to smaller airports, departed just after midnight local time (05:00 GMT) on Wednesday, more than two hours after the initial flight took off.

With its classic blue and white livery, Air Force One is arguably one of the world’s most iconic planes and an instantly recognisable symbol of the US presidency.

The two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly four decades. Boeing has been working on replacements, but the programme has faced a series of delays.

The planes are equipped with radiation shielding and antimissile technology, and include a variety of communications systems to allow the president to maintain contact with the military from anywhere in the world.

Last year, the ruling family of Qatar gifted Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to be added to the Air Force One fleet, which is currently being retrofitted to meet security requirements.

Leavitt joked to reporters on Tuesday night that the Qatari jet was sounding “much better” now.

Last February, an Air Force One plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Germany had to return to Washington because of a mechanical issue.

In October, a military plane carrying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had to make an emergency landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the windshield.