A state visit got off to a bad start for King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia when they landed in Argentina on Sunday, as the Spanish royals were left stuck inside their plane because the airstairs were too short to reach the door.

The royals landed at Jorge Newbery Airport in Buenos Aires shortly before 9 pm but were left stranded inside the Spanish Air Force Airbus 310 as a delegation of Argentinian and Spanish officials waited patiently on the runway, El Correo reports.

The airport provided airstairs for the royals to exit the aircraft from, but when it was rolled up to the plane, they soon realized it was the wrong size and didn’t reach the height of the door.

Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, Argentinian Minister for Foreign Affairs Jorge Faurie and the Spanish ambassador and Argentine were among those waiting by the empty red carpet for the VIPs to emerge from the aircraft.

Eventually, a suitable replacement was found, one which is used for the plane of Argentine President Mauricio Macri.

Philippe and Letizia finally descended at about 10 pm and were greeted by a relieved crowd.