The plane on which Pope Leo XIV was supposed to leave the Canary Islands for Rome suffered a technical failure that could not be repaired immediately. Therefore, the Spanish airline "Iberia" sent another plane from Madrid to take over the flight of the pontiff and the accompanying Vatican delegation, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
An official statement from the airline stated that passengers would be taken off the damaged plane and boarded the backup plane so that the trip could be completed within the day.
„The plane on which Leo XIV and the Vatican delegation were to travel to Rome has suffered a technical problem that cannot be fixed immediately. Passengers will disembark and board a new plane sent from Madrid to make the trip during the day,“Iberia reported.
The Vatican said the pope would depart the Canary Islands at 17:00 GMT, or 20:00 Bulgarian time.
According to the information, the plane on which the flight to Rome will be made was provided by the King of Spain. The incident led to a change in the schedule of the pope's return, but no other complications related to his visit to Spain were reported.