In the end the Pontiff accepts the “loan” from the King of Spain and gets on the Falcon which will take him back to the Vatican within 11pm Italian time. At first Leone had decided to wait to return with the journalists who accompanied him on the apostolic journey which saw stops in Madrid, Barcelona, Las Palmas and Tenerife. Then, however, after the Iberia technicians had tried in vain to resolve the fault that prevented the engines from starting, he decided to accept King Felipe’s invitation. The plane with which the monarch had arrived in Tenerife to greet him has instead been given to the Pope and part of his entourage while the king will wait for a new Falcon from Madrid.
For the journalists on the papal flight, a new Iberia flight is scheduled to arrive from the Spanish capital which will take them back to Rome during the night between the 12th and 13th.
The last precedent of a breakdown of the papal plane dates back to 1990 when John Paul II, on his way to Tanzania, had to stop in Malta. In that case, however, the Pope did not have a different flight available for the journey and had to wait with his entire entourage.
