Pope Leo XIV's flight home from Spain was grounded so the king came to his aid

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: World Pope Leo XIV's flight home from Spain was grounded so the king came to his aid June 13, 202612:29 AM ET By The Associated Press In this handout photo provided by Vatican Media, Pope Leo XIV is accompanied by King Felipe VI of Spain as he deplanes after a technical problem at Tenerife Norte-Los Rodeos International Airport in Tenerife, Spain, Friday, June 12, 2026. Vatican Media via AP hide caption toggle caption Vatican Media via AP SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Spain — Even popes have travel delays. Lucky for Pope Leo XIV, King Felipe VI offered a way out, and a way home.

Religion Pope Leo defends migrants at 'dock of shame' in Spain Leo's Iberia charter, due to take him back to Rome after a weeklong visit to Spain, was grounded by a technical problem Friday, prompting Spain's king to offer his private jet instead. Felipe escorted Leo to his Falcon on the tarmac at the airport in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Leo and members of his delegation boarded the plane and took off, more than three hours after he was originally due to leave.

The Details

The glitch marked an unusual end to an otherwise successful trip to Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands. Leo pressed his migration message and also inaugurated the new tower of the Sagrada Familia basilica. Sponsor Message The Iberia pilot said the engine had failed to start after Leo had boarded.

Initial efforts to fix it failed, forcing all passengers to disembark. Iberia said it was sending another plane from Madrid to fetch the Vatican officials and journalists who were not with Leo on the Falcon. The Spanish archipelago is closer to Africa than the Iberian Peninsula.

It was the first time in decades that a papal flight had experienced a problem so serious that it required the pope to change planes. Journalists attend into the papal flight after takeoff was delayed at Los Rodeos International Airport, at the Canary Islands, Spain, Friday, June 12, 2026. Alessandra Tarantino/AP hide caption toggle caption Alessandra Tarantino/AP Veteran Vatican reporters, some of whom were on the Iberia plane, recalled a few plane-related incidents during the pontificate of St.

What Experts Say

During a 1986 return trip from India, John Paul's plane was forced to land in Naples because of a snowstorm in Rome. The passengers and pope took a special train back to Rome. In 1988 en route to Lesotho, bad weather forced John Paul's plane to land in South Africa, a country he had excluded from his African trip at the time because of apartheid.

He was later driven into the kingdom. Typically on papal trips, the Italian national carrier ITA Airways brings the pope to his destination and that country's national carrier brings him home, with ITA sometimes doing the round trip if the voyage is particularly long or to a place that doesn't have the capacity. Sponsor Message The flights are charters, with the pope, Vatican delegation and security occupying the front of the plane and the 70 or so journalists seated in coach.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.