Pope Leo XIV’s return flight from Tenerife to Rome is delayed after a technical problem grounds the Vatican’s chartered plane, according to multiple reports. The pope had been ending a week-long trip to Spain and was scheduled to leave from the Canary Islands on an Iberia Airways flight with the press corps on board. On Friday, the aircraft cannot take off due to the reported technical issue, prompting the pope and members of his delegation to leave the plane. Spain’s King Felipe VI then offers an alternative: he provides his private jet, a Falcon aircraft. Several accounts say the king escorts the pope to the aircraft on the tarmac at Tenerife’s airport in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The pope and members of his entourage board the Falcon and depart more than three hours after the original departure time. After the delay, the pope continues his journey back to the Vatican. The reports describe the episode primarily as a travel disruption caused by the mechanical failure, followed by the Spanish monarch’s assistance to restore the pope’s schedule.