Iberia to debut domestic Portuguese charters

Faced with a drop-off in long-haul demand due to the COVID-19 crisis, Iberia (IB, Madrid Barajas) has set its sights on Portugal this summer, also introducing new domestic charters to Porto Santo in Madeira from Porto on mainland Portugal. The IAG International Airlines Group subsidiary will offer flights to six destinations including Lisbon, Porto, Funchal, Faro, Porto Santo, and the Azores, it announced in a statement. Twice-weekly charters to Porto Santo (a small island in the Madeira archipelago) will be offered from June 6 until October 10, from Porto, marketed by the Viajes Abreu travel agency. Flights will depart Sundays and Wednesdays, the ch-aviation schedules module reveals. Also new are: Funchal (Madeira): 3x weekly services from Madrid will start on June 2, increasing to 5x weekly flights in July, August, and September, culminating in 18,400 seats on the route. In addition, weekly services will be offered from Barcelona El Prat and Bilbao until September, according to ch-aviation data. Faro (Algarve): Departing from Madrid, Iberia franchisee Air Nostrum (YW, Valencia Manises) flying under the Iberia Regional brand, will offer 3x weekly services from June 4, increasing to 5x weekly services from July, totaling 15,600 seats on the route. Azores: flights will operate twice-weekly non-stop to Ponta Delgada in July and August (starting July 3), becoming the airline’s 114th destination. In addition, Iberia will increase the following services from Madrid Barajas: Lisbon: currently served 14x a week, flights will increase to 22 weekly frequencies in June through September. Porto: currently served daily, Porto will receive up to 11 frequencies a week in June, increasing to double-daily flights from July to October; Iberia also launches new routes to the Maldives (2x weekly from July 2 using A330-200s) and Ljubljana (2x weekly in August).