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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez Makes Emergency Landing in Turkey En Route to Armenia Summit
Ankara, Turkey — May 4, 2026
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was forced to make an emergency landing in Turkey on Sunday after a technical issue with his official aircraft, altering his planned trip to Armenia for the European Political Community summit.
According to government sources, the Airbus A310 carrying Sánchez and his delegation departed from Torrejón de Ardoz airbase near Madrid shortly before 4:00 PM local time, destined for Yerevan, where nearly 50 world leaders were scheduled to gather for the summit. However, the aircraft encountered a technical problem, prompting a precautionary landing in Ankara.
Sánchez and his team will spend the night in Turkey before resuming their journey to Armenia on Monday, with arrival in Yerevan planned for 8:15 AM Spanish time (10:15 AM local time). The summit, the eighth of its kind, brings together leaders from the European Union’s 27 member states and other European nations outside the bloc.
The incident marks the second time in less than a year that Sánchez’s travel plans have been disrupted by an aircraft malfunction. In September 2025, a mid-flight breakdown forced his Falcon jet to return to Madrid from Paris, where he was scheduled to attend a meeting of the Coalition of Willing on Ukraine. That time, Sánchez participated via video link.
The European Political Community summit, focused on regional security and cooperation, comes at a time of heightened tensions in Europe and the Caucasus. Sánchez’s arrival in Yerevan will be closely watched as leaders discuss the geopolitical landscape and the role of European nations in global stability.
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