Washington (CNN) Donald Trump entered a partnership with a Scottish airport in 2014, before launching his White House bid, that routinely sent flight crews to his Turnberry resort, The New York Times reported Monday.

It's an arrangement that contrasts with the President's recent claims that he knows "nothing" about Air Force crews staying at his resort amid growing criticism over the matter.

Scottish government documents obtained by the Times show the Trump Organization made an arrangement with officials at Glasgow Prestwick Airport that routinely sends flight crews to Trump's Turnberry resort. A decision by the Pentagon to increase its use of the airport to refuel Air Force flights in 2015 had local airport officials sending flight crews to hotels in the area for overnight stays, including Turnberry, according to the paper.

Trump "played a direct role in setting up" the deal at the time, the Times said.

The arrangement -- and Trump's recent denial of involvement in it -- underlines another set of ethical questions around the President's continued ownership of his business. Before his inauguration in January 2017 , Trump pledged to transfer his business holdings to a trust run by his adult sons but refused to sell his ownership stake, a step that many ethics lawyers say is critical to avoid conflicts of interest.

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