Donald and Melania Trump's surprise visit to US troops in Iraq on Boxing Day made headlines across the world.

The president and first lady flew out from Washington DC late on Christmas Day night, in what was his first visit to the conflict zone.

This seemingly unplanned visit was confirmed by his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, on Twitter on Wednesday.

However, Trump's little trip to the Middle East, which came just days after he declared that ISIS had been defeated in Syria, wasn't as secret or as surprising as he would have liked it to be.

Keen aircraft trackers on Twitter picked up that something might be happening due to some unusual air traffic activity on Wednesday.

The Twitter account @CivMilAir noticed that the call sign for Air Force One had been changed to RCH358, which led to it being spotted flying over Chapeltown, South Yorkshire.

The aircraft was then tracked as it flew over Europe before touching down in Iraq, confirming that their suspicions were correct.

This was hours before Trump's arrival was confirmed by Sanders, which some pointed out was a tad concerning that such important information could be found out so easily.

It really shouldn't have been that hard for Trump and his team. After all, George W. Bush managed to do without any trouble whatsoever.

Still, it's not like Trump to pass up a photo opportunity, and we'd like to play special tribute to the military jacket he wore with his shirt and tie, which made him look like the living embodiment of a 'your Dad is taking the divorce well' meme.