Pope Leo XIV finished his seven-day trip to Spain in extremely atypical fashion: riding to Rome in the Spanish king's jet. The last-minute twist, caused by an engine failure on the Iberia Airlines plane scheduled to take the pope back to Rome June 12, marked an unexpected ending to an otherwise carefully choreographed papal trip. Following the pomp and circumstance of Leo's farewell ceremony in Tenerife — the Spanish island where he arrived that morning to meet with migrants and celebrate Mass with some 35,000 people — the pope and his entourage boarded the plane and appeared ready for takeoff as King Felipe VI looked on from the tarmac. But after 28 minutes of waiting, the king surprised journalists onboard by walking across the tarmac and climbing the plane's stairs unannounced. Felipe and the Pope then disembarked together and returned to the airport terminal. The Iberia pilot announced that strong headwinds had caused an engine failure. After the plane changed position and again attempted to start the engine, staff announced that everyone onboard would need to disembark. Leo, meanwhile, escorted by the king, crossed the tarmac to a Falcon jet with "Kingdom of Spain" printed along the side in Spanish. The jet, originally intended to take Felipe back to Madrid, instead carried the pope and members of his entourage to Rome. Felipe had traveled to Tenerife that afternoon to see the Pope off. Spanish media reported that another Iberia Airlines plane was being sent from Madrid to take the king back home. Thank you King Felipe for coming to the rescue, and making sure that Pope Leo arrives safely at the Vatican.
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