Iberia Group passengers doubled this Christmas

• From 22 December through 9 January, Iberia, Iberia Express, and Iberia Regional Air Nostrum operated nearly 5,700 flights, almost 75% more than in the same period a year ago.
• Iberia Express scheduled 180,000 seats to and from the Canary Islands, improving on pre-pandemic performance.
• During the entire holiday season, Iberia achieve regularity of 99.4% and punctuality of 93,5%, besting all other European network airlines
• The Group’s handing unit, Iberia Airport Services, served triple the number of passengers at 19 Spanish airports, hiring nearly 1,000 additional employees.
• Iberia Group staff again rose to the occasion during a holiday season greatly complicated by the appearance of the Omicron variant, prolonging the pandemic.

The Iberia Group ended the holiday period on a high note, with 75% more flights and nearly triple the number of passengers compared to a year ago.

Iberia, Iberia Express, and Iberia Regional Air Nostrum together operated nearly 5,700 flights in the 22 December-9 January period, almost 75% more than those of the same period a year ago.

The three airlines also carried some 1.2 million passengers during the holidays, almost triple the 478,000 figure of the year before.

Canary Islands capacity was raised by 4% in the period, to 180,000 seats. This was larger than the number offered in 2019, before the outbreak of the pandemic.

Top Punctuality and Regularity

Iberia Group airlines posted regularity of 99.44% (no flights were cancelled due to Covid-19) and punctuality of 93.5%, which was tops amongst European network airlines during the period, and third in the world, according to Flightstats.

The group made use of the flexibility of the special lay-off arrangements in order to field the employees required at each moment. Idled flight deck and cabin crews amounted to 17% of total flight staff at the beginning of December, but this has since dwindled to 4%.

In both December and January, Iberia deployed additional personnel to deal with incidents, and throughout the pandemic, it has helped laid-off flight deck and cabin staff to maintain or upgrade their professional qualifications in order to facilitate their reincorporation at a moment’s notice.

3.1 Million Passengers Served by Iberia’s Ground Handling Unit

During the holiday period, Iberia Airport Services provided ground services to some 11,200 flights, and 3.1 million passengers –nearly triple the number registered a year ago– at 19 Spanish airports where it serves Iberia and third-party airlines.

The handling unit, which will compete to renew its airport contracts this year, has reincorporated all laid-off employees and added nearly a thousand more during the holiday season, deploying them chiefly in Barcelona, Madrid,  and Tenerife.

12 January 2022