Pope Francis flies to Rome on Spanish King’s private jet after charter plane failure

A charter aircraft operated by Iberia was unable to take off from Tenerife after Pope Francis boarded, because the engine would not start. The technical problem forced a delay of more than three hours.

King Felipe VI of Spain offered his own private jet, the business aircraft “Falkon”, to transport the Pope and his delegation from the Santa Cruz de Tenerife airport to Rome. The Pope boarded the king’s jet and departed for the Vatican.

Iberia said a replacement plane would be dispatched from Madrid for Vatican officials and journalists who were not aboard the king’s jet. This is the first time in several decades that a Pope has had to change aircraft during a trip, recalling similar incidents during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II.