The controversial program of the two new US presidential planes, the Air Force One, has had one more change, this time in the color scheme.
Current US President Joe Biden has discarded the painting designed by his predecessor, Donald Trump. According to White House officials, the exterior paint scheme, with blue, white and red colors, would have caused excess heat inside the aircraft, especially in the dark blue hue in the belly of the Boeing 747-8.
For that reason, the two jets being converted to replace the current Air Force One will retain the same paint scheme used since John F. Kennedy took over the US presidency in the 1960s, with shades of white and lighter blue.
“The Trump paint scheme is not being considered because it could drive additional engineering, time and cost,” an administration official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The new Air Force One program has been ongoing since the Obama administration, but the contract was signed with Boeing only in 2018, with Donald Trump already in office.
Instead of new aircraft, the Air Force purchased two 747-8s that had been built for the failed Russian airline Transaero.
The conversion, which does not include an in-flight refueling receptacle, is expected to cost nearly $4 billion and be completed only in 2026, two years later than originally planned.
