Overview
- An Iberia A320 that had boarded Pope Leo XIV at Tenerife’s Los Rodeos airport was grounded by a pre‑flight technical fault on June 12, officials said after the plane’s engine failed to start and strong winds were reported.
- After technicians were unable to fix the problem the pope deplaned and was escorted by King Felipe VI to the airport VIP area before boarding the king’s Falcon jet for the trip back to Rome.
- The Holy See said the pope’s close aides and cardinals traveled on the royal aircraft while Vatican staff and the journalists who had been on the Iberia flight were scheduled to return later on a separate replacement plane provided by Iberia.
- Iberia said passenger safety was its priority, expressed regret for the inconvenience and opened a full technical review of the A320 that failed to start, and the airline sent a replacement plane from Madrid to collect remaining passengers.
- Though rare for papal travel, the episode underscored established contingency practices and diplomatic cooperation for high‑profile visits and may prompt closer scrutiny of pre‑flight checks and weather effects on small jet operations.