PORTSMOUTH – Conducting business from the nation’s capital on Tuesday, President Joe Biden provided a national update on COVID-19 and urged Americans to get vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Air Force One, Biden’s long-haul mode of transportation, was spotted more than 480 miles north of the White House, drawing crowds of Seacoast spectators who put their hands around their eyes, have pointed to the sky and took cell phone pictures. The custom Boeing 747-220B, dubbed “the President’s office in the sky” by the White House, was seen at Portsmouth International Airport in Pease this week on a training mission.

The plane, with the American flag and presidential seal, provided a stark contrast to the cloudy weather, forcing passers-by to stop and watch, much like training stops in Pease.

One of two President-owned jets, Air Force One is operated and maintained by the Presidential Airlift Group, a branch of the White House military office that was founded in 1944 by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which originally named it the “Presidential Pilots Office”.

Why was the VC-25A at Portsmouth International Airport?

The Presidential Airlift Group is operated by the 89th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Which said in a press release that there were no passengers on the plane as it was seen at Pease .

“The VC-25A seen at Pease (Air National Guard base) made several takeoffs, approaches and landings in various conditions for operational checks and crew skills,” the statement said.

VC-25A is the official Air Force designation for the aircraft, although the 89th Airlift Wing has stated that the radio call sign is exclusively used whenever the President is on board an aircraft of the ‘Air Force.

Boeing is expected to replace the current Air Force One model with the updated VC-25B, although an Air Force executive said in June that the aircraft may not be on sale until 2025, a year later than expected. initially.

The current version of Air Force One was introduced in 1990 when the late George HW Bush was President.