Iberia increased this Thursday by 42% the capacity of its routes with Andalusia, adding 1,080 additional seats, while Air Europa has decided to reinforce its daily operations with Seville until reaching four round-trip frequencies. Both measures respond to the railway accident registered this Wednesday in Urda (Toledo), according to what the two airlines conveyed to Europa Press.
In the case of Iberia, the connection between Madrid and Málaga will have 720 more seats, and the Madrid-Seville route will add another 360, following the addition of six extra flights: two round trips to Málaga and one additional round trip to Seville. Likewise, the company has increased the size of the aircraft on one of the frequencies bound for the capital of Málaga in order to offer more capacity.
For this Friday, the airline expects to make another 1,760 additional seats available to travelers, double what was initially scheduled, through eight extra flights. Specifically, on the Madrid-Seville route two new frequencies are being added at 10.40 and 14.45 hours, while in the Seville-Madrid direction departures are being added at 12.35 and 16.45 hours.
On the Madrid-Málaga link, two additional flights will be added at 06.30 and 18.50 hours, and on the Málaga-Madrid route extra departures will be operated at 08.25 and 20.45 hours, according to the company in a statement.
The airline has also reinforced the capacity of its aircraft in order to put more seats on the market, so that most of these connections have come to be operated by Airbus A321 aircraft.
Between Wednesday and tomorrow Friday, Iberia estimates it will offer 3,280 additional seats, which represents an increase of 47% over the initial planning, while it has indicated that it continues working on scheduling new reinforcement flights for the coming days.
Iberia also maintains a cap on fares for all its flights with origin or destination in Andalusia until next November 8, so that the maximum price per trip in tourist class is set at 99 euros and at 149 euros for the "Business" fare.
The company has also put in place flexibility measures for passengers whose plans have been affected by the railway incident. To process changes to their tickets, customers have the telephone number 900 111 500.
Air Europa reinforcement plan
As for Air Europa, which had already announced on Wednesday the addition of one extra daily frequency to both Málaga and Sevilla, it will add a third connection with the capital of Sevilla on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, according to the airline itself has confirmed to Europa Press.
In Sevilla, the company will operate up to four round-trip flights during those three days, by combining its two usual frequencies with two other extra connections specifically enabled as a result of the railway accident.