This summer, Iberia plans to reactivate 90% of all its destinations in Latin America. The Spanish carrier will fly to 17 Latin American cities in the following months, leaving only two of its pre-pandemic destinations in the region still closed.
Which cities will have Iberia flights?
Before the pandemic, Iberia flew to 19 cities in 14 Latin American countries and Puerto Rico. It was the largest European operator in the region, using Madrid and Barcelona as hubs to connect both continents.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced Iberia to close many of its routes temporarily. Nevertheless, it has reactivated most of them in the last few months.
According to Aviacionline.com, in the following months, Iberia will reactivate its routes to Guayaquil (Ecuador), San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
Therefore, between July and September, Iberia plans to offer up to 64,136 weekly seats between Spain and Latin America. So which routes will it offer?
Argentina
Iberia will fly ten times a week to Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza International Airport. It will use both an Airbus A330-200 and the A350-900, offering up to 6,600 weekly seats.
Despite Argentina being closed, according to Airbus’ TripSet app, Iberia still flies several times a week to Buenos Aires from Madrid and Barcelona. Plus, it is hoping for a reopening this summer.
Brazil
Iberia plans to fly to both Sao Paulo Guarulhos International and Rio de Janeiro’s Galeao International. For the first destination, it will deploy a daily flight onboard the Airbus A330-300. For Rio, it will use the A330-200 with four weekly flights. The route to Rio de Janeiro will restart on July 1.
Chile
The Spanish carrier will fly seven times a week between Madrid and Barcelona to Santiago. It will use the Airbus A350-900 offering up to 4,872 weekly seats. This flight, though, is currently restricted following Chile’s border closure.
Colombia
Similar to Santiago, Iberia will fly seven times a week to Bogota (but only from Madrid), using the Airbus A350-900. It will offer 4,872 weekly seats on this route. It currently flies three times per week between both cities but plans to increase to a weekly flight starting on May 30, according to Cirium’s database.
Costa Rica
Iberia will connect Madrid and San Jose five times a week. It will use the Airbus A330-200, offering 2,880 weekly seats.
Cuba
This summer, Iberia will fly between Madrid and Havana onboard both the Airbus A330-200 and -300. It will have seven weekly flights.
As of this week, it only offers two flights each seven days. On June 1, it will increase to four and on June 29 to one per day.
Dominican Republic
Iberia will have ten weekly flights to Santo Domingo International Airport from Madrid. This destination is the main leisure route Iberia will have during this summer in Latin America. It will use both A330s (-200 and -300), offering up to 5,816 weekly seats.
Ecuador
Iberia will resume its route to Guayaquil on May 3. It will offer three weekly flights using the Airbus A330-200. Meanwhile, the route to Quito will have five weekly frequencies this summer, using the A350-900.
El Salvador
The route between Madrid and San Salvador will have four frequencies per week, using the A330-200.
Guatemala
Likewise, the route between Madrid and Guatemala City will have four weekly flights, using the A330-200.
Mexico City
Currently, Iberia is flying once daily between Mexico City and Guatemala. Starting on June 4, it will offer ten weekly flights with two daily frequencies on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. The airline will deploy up to 6,960 weekly seats, its largest offer between Europe and Latin America.
Panama
Iberia will fly five times per week to Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. It will do it by using the A330-200.
Peru
The airline will operate the route Madrid-Lima daily. It will use both the Airbus A330-200 and the A350-900.
Puerto Rico
The route Madrid-San Juan will restart on June 1. It will have three weekly flights onboard the A330-200.
Uruguay
This route is important because Iberia is deploying IATA’s Travel Pass here. The airline offers five weekly flights with its A330-200, having nearly 3,000 weekly seats.
Which routes remained closed
Iberia still has to reactivate a couple of routes to Latin America. One of them is to Medellin, in Colombia. The second one is to Caracas, in Venezuela.
Currently, Venezuela is still closed to every but six countries worldwide: Bolivia, Mexico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Russia, and Turkey.
What do you think of Iberia’s summer plan in Latin America? Let us know in the comments.