Pope Leo XIV's flight home from Spain was grounded so the king came to his aid

Pope Leo XIV’s Iberia charter home from Spain was grounded by a technical problem, prompting King Felipe VI to offer his private jet. Leo and delegates boarded the king’s Falcon on the tarmac at Santa Cruz de Tenerife after the engine failed to start following boarding, delaying departure by more than three hours. Iberia said initial fixes failed, requiring disembarkation and the dispatch of another plane from Madrid to fetch Vatican officials and journalists not traveling on the Pope’s aircraft. Papal travel typically involves ITA Airways delivering the pope to his destination and other carriers bringing him home, a pattern briefly disrupted in this incident.