In the Canaries, a “technical problem” on Pope Leo XIV’s plane delayed his return to Rome. The sovereign pontiff was forced to get off the plane before boarding another plane, made available by the King of Spain.
A technical problem was detected on the Pope’s plane in the Canaries, just before his departure this Friday, June 12, to return to Rome. Leo XIV was forced to get off the plane and his departure was delayed.
The King of Spain Felipe VI, who had just greeted the Pope on the tarmac, briefly boarded the plane before the two men left the plane and returned to the terminal shortly before 5:30 p.m.
In a brief statement published at 5:45 p.m., the communications service for the papal trip to Spain indicated that “the departure of the Pope’s flight is delayed by half an hour due to a technical problem with the plane.”
A plane made available by the King of Spain
Finally, the sovereign pontiff left the Canary Islands at 7 p.m., in a plane made available by the King of Spain. According to a Vatican press release, he is supposed to arrive in Rome around 11 p.m.
The cause of the technical problem, announced by the pilot to the passengers, has not yet been communicated. However, it could be an engine problem.
Pope Leo XIV returns to Italy after a seven-day trip to Spain. He arrived this Friday morning on the island of Tenerife in the Canaries from the neighboring island of Gran Canaria, where he had been since Thursday.
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