Pope Leo XIV Unable to Leave Tenerife: Plane Breaks Down Before Departure. Pope Leo XIV was forced to change planes in Tenerife due to an engine failure. King Felipe VI of Spain personally offered the pontiff his own aircraft to return to Italy. Journalists and the delegation will return on separate flights.
Pope Leo XIV encountered an unexpected problem at the final stage of his apostolic visit to Tenerife. The pontiff’s scheduled flight to Rome was canceled due to a technical malfunction on the Iberia Airbus A320 aircraft. According to accompanying journalists, the delegation was already on board when the engine problem became known.
After the flight was canceled, Leo XIV and his companions disembarked from the plane. The pontiff was accompanied down the aircraft steps by King Felipe VI of Spain, who was on the island for an official reception. As a result of the situation, the head of the Roman Catholic Church accepted the king’s offer to use his personal aircraft to return to Italy.
According to Vatican News, journalists covering the visit will return on a separate Iberia flight. The initial departure from Tenerife was scheduled for 17:20 Moscow time, with arrival in Rome expected at 21:40. However, resolving the technical malfunction will require additional time, making it impossible to operate the flight as planned.
As reported by the ANSA agency, such incidents involving technical failures on commercial flights are rare but require strict adherence to safety protocols. In this case, the decision to change aircraft was made promptly to avoid delaying the return of the pontiff and the delegation.
The use of a royal aircraft for the head of the Church highlights the special nature of relations between the Vatican and Spain. Such gestures of support from the monarch are rare and attest to a high level of diplomatic engagement.
