The pontiff, accompanied by his closest entourage, took off after six in the evening (Canary time) on the aircraft offered by the King of Spain. The departure was delayed by over three hours from the scheduled time, initially due to official events and subsequently because of the technical issue with the Iberia plane, which could not be repaired promptly.
Vatican sources reported that the Pope and his retinue are expected to arrive in Rome around 11:00 PM (local time). The rest of the passengers, including eighty journalists, will return on another Iberia aircraft dispatched from Madrid.
Pilots from the 45th Wing of the Spanish Air Force were responsible for flying the Falcon. After bidding farewell to the Pope on the tarmac, the King returned to the terminal to await another Spanish Air Force flight to Madrid.
The visit of Pope Leo XIV to Spain, which began on June 6th, concludes with this departure after a schedule that included large-scale events, such as the mass in the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife attended by 40,000 faithful. The delay in this final event had already caused an initial delay in the departure of the Iberia flight.
The technical incident occurred shortly before 4:30 PM local time, as the Pope was disembarking the aircraft after being seen off by King Felipe VI. Following unsuccessful attempts to repair and restart the engine, it was decided to disembark all passengers to transfer them to a new aircraft, prioritizing safety at all times, as communicated by Iberia.
