Passengers on a Vueling flight from Barcelona were on their way into Tenerife North on Tuesday morning, October 27, when the airport’s emergency plan was activated over a problem with the landing gear. Some early reports even claimed the plane had no landing gear at all, so what really happened as it came in? 

Emergency plan activated as the jet came in 

A Vueling flight from Barcelona was approaching Tenerife North (Los Rodeos) airport on Tuesday when a problem with its landing gear set off the airport’s emergency plan, according to Aena sources. The plane had left Barcelona at around 7.20am and was due to land at 9.55am. 

Some reports said the plane had no landing gear at all

Several Spanish headlines claimed the aircraft landed without its landing gear deployed, which would have made the incident an extreme emergency landing. However, local media later reported that the fault was a locked steering system on the landing gear, which hasn’t yet been officially confirmed.

Aena itself only referred to a general problem with the landing gear. It said the airport’s operations weren’t otherwise affected, although one local outlet reported that the airport’s single runway was closed temporarily and has since reopened. 

The jet landed safely and nobody was hurt 

In the end, the plane touched down without any problems and no injuries were reported among passengers or crew. Vueling described a technical incident of no great importance and said it had chosen a precautionary landing.

For many on board, the issue wasn’t apparent until the plane was already being towed on the tarmac. Several passengers slept through the entire thing, and Pablo Bibiana said they felt no turbulence or problems. Mirella López, who was seated near the cockpit, said she was concerned that the plane stayed in the air longer than expected, but later felt reassured.

A second Vueling scare in 24 hours

The incident came less than a day after a separate Vueling flight from Barcelona landed in Gran Canaria on Monday following a bomb threat on board. The two events are unrelated.

Vueling replaced the aircraft for the return flight to Barcelona as a precaution, moving passengers onto an Airbus A321, and the departure was pushed back from 10.35am to 12.15pm. The airline expects the original plane to return to service on the same day, so anyone due to fly out of Tenerife North should expect regular services to continue, and to check their flight’s status with their airline.

A woman told airport police they were just chicken eggs, but they started hatching the very next day and the chicks turned out to be threatened Brazilian parrots. A year on, the trail has led investigators to two men arrested in Gran Canaria, an island with plenty of parrot breeders and parks.

A bra, nylon stockings and a diplomatic passport

Brazilian police stopped a Swiss passenger at Rio de Janeiro’s Galeão airport in October 2025 as she tried to board a flight home. She was carrying a diplomatic passport and 24 eggs hidden under her clothes, most of them tucked inside her bra and held in place with nylon stockings. She told officers they were garnizé (bantam chicken) eggs. However, they began hatching the very next day after they were seized, and only nine chicks survived. 

The chicks were protected South American parrots, the red-tailed amazon and the red-spectacled amazon, with the latter listed as vulnerable to extinction.

One woman, 17 trips to Brazil

She was released at the time, but that wasn’t the end of it. Brazil’s Federal Police later found she’d flown to Brazil 17 times between 2019 and 2025, usually for short stays and sometimes flying back to Europe the same day she arrived.

Investigators now believe members of the group have been travelling between Brazil and Switzerland for around 20 years. They describe a clear division of labour, with some finding the eggs, others organising trips and smuggling them, and others receiving the birds abroad. 

Two men arrested in Gran Canaria 

The case came to a head on Monday October 19 in what’s been named Operación Nido Vacío (Operation Empty Nest). Spain’s National Police arrested two men described as the alleged leaders of the network in Gran Canaria, reportedly after they travelled there together from Switzerland.

Their names haven’t been released yet, and there’s no detail on what they were doing on the island. Reports note that Gran Canaria also has several breeders and parks for parrots and other wild birds on the island, though it hasn’t been directly related to the incident.

At the same time, Swiss customs officers searched three addresses in Weinfelden, while Brazilian police arrested two suspects and searched three addresses in Curitiba, where stuffed animals, bones and skulls were seized. The Swiss woman now has an arrest warrant and is on an Interpol red notice.

It isn’t the first exotic animal case linked to the Canaries

In June, the Guardia Civil’s nature protection unit (Seprona) broke up a separate network after a suitcase of undocumented protected animals bound for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria was intercepted at Sevilla airport. Officers seized 256 specimens, including spectacled caimans, savannah monitors and red-eyed tree frogs.

As for the parrot case, investigators are now trying to identify the suppliers, the middlemen and whoever was meant to receive the birds. Those charged will face prosecution in Brazil for international wildlife trafficking, animal mistreatment, smuggling and criminal association.

Thousands of taxpayers in Spain are set to receive refunds on a local rubbish collection charge after a court ruled that the municipal ordinance governing it was unlawful. More than 35,000 payments are affected, with approximately €5 million collected under the disputed scheme.

In an official announcement published on October 14, the council confirmed that it would begin further administrative procedures this week, following confirmation that the court judgment had become final.

The court’s ruling does not mean that garbage fees are no longer a tax in Spain. This is a municipal ordinance in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. This case might be worth watching by other property owners who are being subjected to the same fees.

Why is Las Palmas refunding its rubbish collection tax?

The issue of contention is a city charge that was established by ordinance in April 2025 for the pickup, transportation, and disposal of household garbage.

The High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) ruled that the municipal ordinance was unlawful.

The ruling was about the legal and technical reasons for imposing the local charge and distributing it among taxpayers. This ruling did not overturn Spain’s general legal obligation for municipalities to set up waste management charges.

The city council announced in July that it would not be appealing the ruling and instead would organize for any payments already made to be returned.

According to information provided by the municipality at the time, 169,105 tax bills had been approved, and 35,002 had been paid. The total amount collected was around €5 million.

The latest update was after the council’s confirmation on October 8 that the judgment is final.The administrative process is expected to begin towards the end of this week.

However, it does not mean that all the taxpayers who are affected by the tax will be paid immediately. The council described the process as complex due to the number of cases.

Who can claim a rubbish tax refund in Las Palmas?

The taxpayer’s rights to a refund depend on whether the taxpayer has already paid the charge and whether the time for challenging the assessment is still open.

According to the city council of Las Palmas, citizens who paid the tax and are still within the appeal period can request a refund.

The deadline for submitting an administrative appeal is generally one month from the day after the tax assessment was notified. For taxpayers who voluntarily accessed the online tax office and paid the charge, the period begins on the day after payment.

The municipality has prepared standard forms to help taxpayers submit their appeals.

The situation for those whose appeal deadlines have already passed is different. The council has indicated that there is no need to file a new application, as the administration will review their cases.

The outstanding charges on those taxpayers who arranged to pay in instalments have also been suspended. The instalment payments already made must be returned through the administrative procedure.

The refunds therefore only relate to the people who have paid the affected charge, rather than all the property owners or residents in the city.

How to request a rubbish tax refund in Las Palmas

Residents who need to make an appeal can use the Las Palmas Online Tax Office . This is where information about cancelling the waste fee and how to request a refund will be available. The council has also provided help through its taxpayer service offices, municipal offices and district offices.

The people who request a refund are normally required to provide evidence that the charge has been paid and a proof of a bank account in their name or a joint bank account.

Businesses may need to provide additional documentation. Residents can also call the municipal information line at 010, or 928 446 600 from outside the municipality.

The council has not yet set a date for the payment of all refunds. The time it takes will depend on how the affected assessment is reviewed by the administration and how each taxpayer’s individual situation is.

The decree that was abolished has been cancelled, but that does not mean Las Palmas will stop charging for waste collection permanently.

Spanish law mandates municipalities to have a set fee for waste management services, and the city council has said that they will draft a new ordinance with all legal requirements. The first priority for those who have already paid is to get back the money collected under the aborted scheme.

The latest announcement brings Las Palmas a step closer to returning approximately €5 million collected under the annulled tax scheme. However, with thousands of payments to review, the council has not yet confirmed when all affected taxpayers will receive their refunds.