Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez looks on during a signing ceremony with Senegal's President after meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on March 26, 2026. (AFP)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez departed Ankara on May 4 after his aircraft made an emergency landing in the Turkish capital due to a technical malfunction while en route from Madrid to Yerevan.
Sanchez, who spent the night at a hotel in Ankara, resumed his journey after the issue affecting the official Airbus A310 aircraft was resolved. The plane subsequently took off from Ankara carrying the prime minister and his delegation.
According to Spain’s state news agency EFE, citing government sources, the aircraft had been forced to make an unscheduled landing as a precautionary measure in line with safety protocols while Sanchez was traveling to attend the European Political Community summit in Armenia.
The source, who required anonymity, did not say what kind of problem the aircraft had encountered.
This is not the first such incident involving Sanchez’s travel plans. On Sept. 4, 2025, he was unable to attend a meeting on Ukraine in Paris after a Falcon jet carrying him was forced to turn back mid-flight to Madrid due to a separate technical fault. He ultimately joined that meeting via a remote connection.
