Prince Felipe’s Honduras trip delayed nine hours after emergency landing

For the second time in two months, a jet carrying Prince Felipe and members of the Spanish government was forced to make an emergency landing after the Airbus’s pilots reported technical difficulties.

The prince’s plane touched down at Las Américas Airport in Santo Domingo after the pilot of the Airbus A310 decided to return to the Dominican Republic when the oil warning light came on. Felipe and his entourage were on their way to Honduras to take part in the presidential inauguration of Juan Orlando Hernández. The plane had made a refueling stop in Santo Domingo.

In the end, the prince was received by Honduras' outgoing president, Porfirio Lobo, nine hours later than scheduled. Due to the delay, Prince Felipe had to cancel practically all of his engagements set for Sunday.

It was the same plane that also suffered a technical problem on November 24, preventing the prince from attending a business and political conference in Brazil. On that occasion, the pilots received a warning that the one of the wing flaps wasn’t functioning.

The Defense Ministry has opened an investigation to determine whether these latest problems have anything to do with a ground crew change. Up until last March, Iberia provided maintenance to the prince’s planes, but now Airbus is in charge.