Turkey’s ‘Air Force One’ painted red and white

ISTANBUL

It took three days to paint the Airbus A330-200 Prestige, which landed at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport on Aug. 29. DHA Photo

Turkey’s new presidential jet, which has been likened by some observers to the United States’ Air Force One aircraft, has been painted in the colors of the Turkish flag, Doğan News Agency reported on Sept. 1.

It took three days to paint the Airbus A330-200 Prestige, which landed at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport in the early hours of Aug. 29.

A crescent and a star have been drawn on the tail of the aircraft, which now reads “The Republic of Turkey” in Turkish and English on each side.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used the jet, which has been registered as TC-TUR, for the first time in his first official visit as Turkey’s president to Northern Cyprus on Sept. 1.

The 90-seat aircraft was ordered by Erdoğan two and a half years ago, before being modified by the San Diego-based aircraft designers, Gore Design.