Iberia, Air Europa, Volotea and Ryanair have intensified their flights between Madrid and different Andalusian airports after the increase in demand caused by Wednesday’s Urda (Toledo) railway accident, adding more seats, using larger aircraft and setting maximum prices per ticket.
In the case of Iberia and Iberia Express, the supply of seats has increased by 93% until November 8, with 20,718 additional seats and 98 extra flights --78 from Iberia and 20 from the 'low cost'--, divided into 10,734 new seats with Sevilla and 9,984 with Málaga.
For this Friday, the company is scheduling 1,760 more seats and eight additional operations, with two round-trip flights to Málaga and another two to Sevilla, according to what it detailed in a note. In addition, the size of the aircraft has been increased on another six already planned frequencies to raise capacity, incorporating Airbus A321.
Coinciding with the All Saints' bridge, the group will offer 7,642 additional seats, almost double what was initially planned (+90%), with 4,204 extra seats on the Madrid-Sevilla route and 3,428 on Madrid-Málaga. Up to next Monday, 34 additional flights have been planned.
Since the accident and until November 8, the group will have operated a total of 140 direct flights between Madrid and Málaga and Sevilla, which translates into 49,786 available seats. The airline has indicated that it continues studying new reinforced frequencies starting on November 9.
Another of the decisions adopted by Iberia is the establishment of a cap on the fares of all its flights with origin or destination in Andalucía until November 8, so that tickets do not exceed 99 euros per leg in economy class and 149 euros in 'Business'.
Air Europa adds more daily frequencies
Air Europa has also reinforced its operation with one extra daily flight to both Málaga and Sevilla, so that its current reinforcement translates into two additional flights per day to each of these destinations.
Likewise, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays it adds three extra daily frequencies with Sevilla, so on those days it will reach up to five round trips, by adding to the two connections in its usual schedule.
With this reinforcement, the airline will reach six daily frequencies with Málaga, starting from the four regular round-trip flights it was already operating.
Volotea schedules almost 100 extra flights and sets a price cap
Volotea announced this Friday that it will incorporate nearly 100 additional flights on the Madrid-Seville and Madrid-Málaga routes between November 13 and 16, with reservations already available on its official website.
In detail, the connection between Madrid and Seville will initially have up to four weekly frequencies --Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday--, while the route with Málaga will have five frequencies a week --Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday--.
Starting in December, the company will further increase operations by adding an additional flight on Thursdays on the route with Seville and another on Sundays on the connection with Málaga.
Following the line set by Iberia, Volotea has set a maximum price per trip of 75 euros for the basic fare and 99 euros including a cabin bag of up to 10 kilos.
Ryanair introduces daily Málaga-Madrid flights with reduced fares
Ryanair has also joined the reinforcement plan with the launch of two daily flights between Málaga and Madrid with prices from 49.99 euros, operating between November 14 and January 10, with the intention of offering alternatives to users affected by the interruption of rail traffic.
According to its spokesperson in Spain, "we hope that, with the economical prices so necessary at this time, our two daily flights between Málaga and Madrid can contribute in a small way so that families, communities and businesses continue to be connected".
The airline has also expressed its "most sincere condolences" to the families who "have lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy".