This August, Iberia Group is offering regular scheduled flights to a total of 55 destinations in Spain and the rest of Europe, including new direct services to Prague and Berlin.
As in July, long-haul flights are being operated to countries open to air traffic, including Uruguay, Costa Rica, Ecuador or the United States, among others. Iberia is also operating special repatriation and cargo flights to countries still closed to schedules traffic. All flights are subject to each country’s restrictions.
Iberia’s flights are all now timed to facilitate connections at the airline’s hub in T4 of Madrid Airport.
These flights represent only 27% of Iberia’s planned pre-Covid-19 flight schedule, up by nine percentage points from July, thanks to the new destinations and added frequencies to the Canary and Balearic Islands, Barcelona, and other tourist destinations.
In addition to these flights originating in Madrid, the Iberia Group is also operating point-to-point Iberia flights such as Munich-Minorca, San Sebastian-Palma, and San Sebastian-Malaga, while Iberia Express is flying from Asturias to Gran Canaria and Tenerife, and from Vigo to Tenerife. Iberia’s franchise partner Iberia Regional Air Nostrum is flying from Nice to Malaga, as well as flights from different mainland destinations to the Canary and Balearic Islands.
The Iberia Group’s summer flight programme features new health and hygiene measures to ensure passenger safety and a pleasant travel experience, in keeping with the recommendations of the Spanish and European Air Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), intended to facilitate the recovery of air travel in a safe environment.
Here follows a summary of these measures, which are given in detail on the Iberia, Iberia Express and Iberia Regional Air Nostrum web sites.
Pre-flight:
• During check in passengers must sign a Declaration of Health, attesting that they have no symptoms, have not been diagnosed with Covid-19, and have not been in contact with a known carrier.
• On flights abroad passengers must also complete a “Health Tracking Form” and a “Health Questionnaire”.
• Only passengers holding tickets to fly will be admitted to Spanish or other European airports.
• Passengers are strongly advised to obtain their boarding passes before reaching the airport, downloading them to their telephones in order to avoid contacts.
At the airport:
• All surfaces that may be touched by passengers are disinfected frequently and barriers have been placed in strategic positions at check in and customer service counters.
• Queues for check in and other services have been redesigned to ensure distancing.
• Passengers are strongly advised to check in their hand luggage (at no charge), in order to avoid unnecessary movements aboard the aircraft.
• No hand luggage may be taken aboard that exceeds 56 x 40 x 25cm or 10 kg in Economy. On long-haul flights Business passengers may take two pieces of hand luggage not exceeding 14 kg.
• For additional speed, safety, and convenience, passengers will board by rows, starting from the rear.
Other measures:
• During flights all passengers above the age of six must wear face masks covering nose and mouth, preferably surgical ones.
• Passengers must change their masks with the frequency indicated by the manufacturer. Bags will be provided for the storage or disposal of used masks.
• Aircraft cabins will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected as recommended
• Air in cabins is replaced every 2-3 minutes, and HEPA filters eliminate 99.99% of all virus and bacteria from recirculated air.
On-board services
• On each flight passengers will hear messages from health authorities about detecting, avoiding, and reporting symptoms of Covid-19.
• Disinfectant wipes will be issued to all passengers, and extra supplies of hand-washing soaps will be available in toilets.
• Single-use disposable utensils will be used in food service, which has been simplified.
• Blankets and pillows issued on long haul flights are disinfected and sealed before use.
• Duty-free sales and the distribution of newspapers and magazines during flights have been eliminated, but passengers can access more than 7,000 on-line publications, along with other entertainment options.
• Outfitted in personal protection gear, Iberia cabin crews have also undergone specific training in the implementation of good health practices and special protocols, enabling them to detect and isolate any passenger showing suspicious symptoms.
