The President and First Lady waved at cameras from the steps of Air Force One as they disembarked at Stansted Airport on Thursday evening. Mr Trump appeared cheerful and calm as he descended onto the tarmac after flying in from Brussels fresh from a fierce row with American allies at a Nato summit. The couple then boarded a helicopter which took them to Winfield House in Regent's Park - the official home of the US Ambassador. US President Trump and Melania Trump arrive on Air Force One at Stansted Airport / PA Politicians, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, have repeatedly called for the invitation to be retracted - particularly in light of recent stories about child migrants being separated from their families in the US. Donald Trump arrives for his first official visit to the UK 1 /20 Donald Trump arrives for his first official visit to the UK U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump disembark from Air Force One as they arrive at London Stansted Airport AP U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport Reuters Air Force One, the plane of US President Donald Trump, lands at Stansted Airport AFP/Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump disembark from Air Force One as they arrive at London Stansted Airport PA President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greet Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox on their arrival at Stansted Airport Getty Images The Marine One helicopter carrying US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump flies past the BT Tower before landing at Winfield House, the London residence of US ambassador Woody Johnson Getty Images President Donald Trump with first lady Melania Trum during their arrival on Marine One helicopter, in Regent's Park, near the residence of the US Ambassador AP The honour guard gets into position before the arrival of US President Trump and Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport, PA Armed police are seen on the tarmac at Stansted Airport, AFP/Getty Images A convoy of US cars sits on the tarmac at Stansted Airport, AFP/Getty Images US Marine Corps helicopter on the tarmac ahead of the the arrival of US President Trump and Melania Trump at Stansted Airport, PA Specialist Firearms Officers wait for the arrival of US President Trump and Melania Trump at Stansted Airport, London, in Air Force One, for their first official visit to the UK PA Security waits for the arrival of US President Trump and Melania Trump at Stansted Airport, London, in Air Force One, for their first official visit to the UK PA US Marine Corps Osprey aircraft on the tarmac ahead of the the arrival of US President Trump and Melania Trump at Stansted Airport, London for their first official visit to the UK PA Security waits for the arrival of US President Trump and Melania Trump at Stansted Airport, London, in Air Force One, for their first official visit to the UK PA US President Donald Trump lands at Stansted Airport Sky News U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport Reuters Armed police officers stand beyond a fence which is part of the security measures at Winfield House in London's Regents Par PA And the fact that the visit, which was arranged at the request of the Prime Minister, is expected to leave taxpayers with a police and security bill of up to £10 million has done nothing to quell public anger. US President Donald Trump (C) and US First Lady Melania Trump (R) walk with US Ambassador to the United Kingdom Woody Johnson (L) as they arrive at the US ambassador's residence Winfield House in London / AFP/Getty Images Theresa May will host Mr Trump, and his wife Melania, at a lavish dinner at Blenheim Palace before the they spend the night at the US ambassador's official residence in Regent's Park. Security waits for the arrival of US President Trump and Melania Trump at Stansted / PA Mr Trump will then join Mrs May at a military base on Friday to observe a joint counter-terrorism exercise involving UK and US special forces. US security teams await the president's arrival / PA The two leaders will hold talks at the Prime Minister's country residence of Chequers where Russia, Brexit and the Middle East will top the agenda. Osprey aircraft on the tarmac at Stansted / PA Mr Trump will then travel to Windsor Castle to meet the Queen before heading to Scotland, where he will spend time on his golf course, ahead of travelling to Helsinki for a summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin. A US Marine Corps helicopter on the tarmac ahead of the the arrival of US President Trump and Melania Trump / PA He is expected to avoid areas in central London where the main part of the demonstrations will be and where an inflatable baby blimp of himself will be flying over Parliament. The President's plane has touched down at Stansted Airport / Twitter Mr Trump raised eyebrows when he went out of his way to praise Boris Johnson after resigning as foreign secretary, while insisting it was up to the British people whether Mrs May remained in office or not. Donald Trump and wife Melania touch down in Regent's Park / AP Ahead of Mr Trump's visit, the PM said: "Our trade and investment relationship is unrivalled, we are the largest investors in each other's economies and every day a million British people go to work for US companies in the UK and a million Americans go to work for UK companies in the US. US President Donald Trump (L) gestures as he poses alongside Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (R) as Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa (TOP) looks on during the opening ceremony of the NATO / AFP/Getty Images "This week we have an opportunity to deepen this unique trading relationship and begin discussions about how we will forge a strengthened, ambitious and future-proof trade partnership. "As two nations, we are safer, more prosperous and more creative when we work together and I am looking forward to this week's important discussions." A giant 'Trump baby' balloon will greet Trump in London<doc-sep>In anticipation of the massive protests planned for President Donald Trump’s visit to the U.K. on Thursday, the U.S. Embassy has warned Americans to “keep a low profile” in the English capital. In the Tuesday memo, the U.S. Embassy in London alerted citizens to the “numerous demonstrations” that could “attract large crowds” that may be less than agreeable toward Americans. In a list of “actions to take,” the warning recommended that Americans, “Exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings that may become violent,” “keep a low profile” and “be aware of your surroundings.” Up to 200,000 people are expected to take to the streets in protests planned to run Thursday through Sunday, mostly in central London. Demonstrators plan to fly a 19-foot blimp depicting Trump as an orange diaper-wearing baby — a move London Mayor Sadiq Khan told the BBC he approved of as a “right to peaceful protest.” President Trump will arrive in Britain on Thursday after the NATO summit in Belgium. During his visit, he will meet Queen Elizabeth, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, and also probably play golf at one of his courses in Scotland. Trump’s visit has prompted the largest U.K. police mobilization since large-scale riots in 2011, the Guardian reports. The last time President Trump was invited to the U.K., more than 1.8 million Britons signed a petition against the visit. Prime Minister May had invited the president in January for the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in London, but Trump canceled the trip because he did not like the Obama administration’s choice of location for the new facility. Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Contact us at letters@time.com.<doc-sep>Can we send you the Mirror Travel newsletter with weekly travel news and inspiration? Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Yes! Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Plane enthusiasts got a glimpse of Air Force One as Donald Trump and wife Melania arrived for their UK visit on Thursday - but it wasn't just the aircraft itself that caught their attention. In fact, the short flight from Brussels to the UK proved just how much quicker it is to travel on the US president's dedicated aircraft, as Trump made the journey in less than half of the usual time. A flight from Brussels to London Stansted takes approximately 1hr 15 minutes on normal commercial aircraft. However, Air Force One was spotted by eagle-eyed planespotters departing Brussels' Zaventem airport at 2.18pm local time - that's 1.18pm UK time. One fan shared a video on Twitter of the plane taking off, with the time stamp visible as Air Force One took to the skies. And by 1.50pm, the plane had touched down on London Stansted's runway, making for a journey time of just 32 minutes - less than half the time it usually takes. (Image: AFP) Of course that's not solely down to the aircraft's speeds - it won't be flying the same routes that commercial airlines will need to take. Still, it's a pretty impressive journey time for the £200m Boeing VC-25A. It's not all about the aircraft either, as Air Force One refers to any Air Force aircraft that is carrying the president. However, it's most commonly used to describe two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft. (Image: Getty Images Europe) What's also interesting is that every flight by Air Force One is classified as a military operation. Ahead of each take off, security conducts thorough checks on the plane and runway at Maryland’s Andrews Air Force Base ahead of take off. Not to mention that the plane operates as an airborne military command centre, complete with secure global satellite communications and TV studio facilities allowing the president to address the nation from the skies if needs be.<doc-sep>
In typical Trump style the president is bringing an army of 1,000 staff, a massive motorcade and several helicopters for his brief UK visit. Donald and Melania will fly from the Nato summit in Brussels to London this afternoon, and will head straight to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. It’s the venue for a special black-tie dinner which will be hosted by Theresa May. Donald Trump will touch down in London later today (Picture: Reuters) So if you think your next weekend away involves a lot of planning, take a look at what the presidential entourage is made up of. Air Force One Trump will emerge from the iconic Air Force One this afternoon. It’s one of two specially modified Boeing 747-200s. The luxurious aircraft are highly customised and can act as a mobile command centre in the event of an attack on the US. Air Force One is instantly recognisable (Picture: ZUMA Press/REX/Shutterstock) The words ‘United States of America’ emblazoned across the plane make it instantly recognisable. The aircraft has 4,000 square feet of floor space, including a Presidential suite with a large office and conference room, a medical suite that can be used as an operating room and two food preparation galleys that can feed 100 people at a time. The Beast The presidential motorcade, which includes two identical limousines, nicknamed The Beast, and other security and communications vehicles, is brought across by Air Force transport aircraft. The Beast is a seven-seat black armoured limousine that reportedly costs $2,000,000 (£1.5 million) and is designed to give Trump the ultimate protection. It can be turned into a sealed panic room with oxygen tanks, night-vision camera and reinforced steel plating said to be able to resist bullets, chemical attacks and bombs. Trump travels in one of two ‘Beasts’ – the Cadillac doubles up as a protective tank (Picture: Reuters) Trump’s motorcade has already been spotted in London before Trump’s arrival (Picture: AFP/Getty) The Cadillac has Kevlar-reinforced tyres and steel rims that can keep the vehicle moving even if the tyres have been destroyed. Bottles of the president’s blood type are carried on board in case of a medical emergency, and a satellite phone enables communication to be maintained from anywhere in the world. As well as being able to defend the president, the car also features a host of attacking capabilities, such as a pump-action shotgun and a tear gas cannon. Marine One A fleet of presidential helicopters, which are known as Marine One when the president is on board, are also brought on overseas trips. The Marine One helicopter is fitted with communications equipment, anti-missile defences and hardened hulls. Trump is also bringing Marine One with him during the visit (Picture: EPA) Trump is expected to fly in Marine One to get to various locations in the UK (Picture: AP) Staff Staff typically involved in an overseas trip include the Secret Service, military communications specialists and White House aides. The president has at his side at all times a White House doctor and one of five rotating military aides who carry the nuclear ‘football’ – equipped with communication tools and a book with prepared war plans. There is always a group of 13 members of the press on such visits, including three wire reporters, two print reporters, four photographers, a three-person television crew, and a radio reporter. Trump is bringing his Secret Service and 1,000 staff (Picture: REX) Trump will have an army of aides by his side (Picture: AFP/Getty)