Donald Trump’s Air Force One plane faces technical glitch while going to Davos, US President had to return

By Samira Vishwas On Jan 24, 2026

Washington, January 21. US President Donald Trump was going to attend the Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday night (local time), when his Air Force One plane suffered a technical fault in the air. According to reports, Trump had to return to Washington due to a malfunction in the plane.

White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt said the decision to return was made after takeoff, when the crew aboard Air Force One noticed “a small electrical problem” and, out of an abundance of caution, decided to return.

AIR FORCE ONE (VC-25A) enroute to WEF 26 is turning around back to Andrews AFB for unknown reasons.
audio via @liveatc and tracking via @ADSBex pic.twitter.com/W8HuK1KVgA
— thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) January 21, 2026

After returning to Joint Base Andrews, a reporter aboard the plane reported that the lights in the plane’s press cabin briefly went out shortly after takeoff, but no explanation was given. Upon his return, Trump will board another plane and continue his journey to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

According to the report, both the aircraft used as Air Force One have been flying for almost four decades. Boeing is working on a replacement, but the program has been delayed several times.

Last year, Qatar’s royal family gifted Trump a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet to be included in the Air Force One fleet, which raised a lot of questions. That aircraft is currently being retrofitted to meet safety requirements.