Iberia, 75 years committed to Latin America
On 22 September 1946, the first commercial flights were established between Europe and Latin America.
This September Iberia is celebrating the 75th anniversary of flights to Latin America, its main market and on which it has developed its entire strategy in recent years, creating a true bridge between Europe and Latin America and making Madrid the main point of entry from Latin America to the old world.
It was on 22 September 1946 when an Iberia DC-4 left Barajas airport in Madrid bound for Buenos Aires, to establish one of the first scheduled flights between Europe and Latin America. The route taken by those first flights was Madrid-Villa Cisneros-Natal-Montevideo-Buenos Aires. A journey that took 36 hours, including stopovers.
Since then, Iberia has operated continuously with Latin America, as proof of its commitment both in good times and those that have not been so good.
Event at the Casa de América
To celebrate these 75 years of connections between Europe and Latin America, Iberia organised an event at the Casa de América, with the presence of the Secretary of State for Latin America, representatives of the embassies of the countries in the region and the Madrid City Council, and Latin American culture and sports personalities.
During these 75 years, Iberia has brought people together and connected cultures and that is why Jorge Drexler, Natalia Verbeke, Esteban Roel and Ray Zapata spoke during the event about their experiences living between the two continents and about the Spanish language, considered by Iberia to be "its first passenger".
Flying, a documentary
The inauguration event in the Casa de América featured the premiere of the documentary "Flying", a song composed to welcome the Iberia Airbus A350 and as a tribute to its employees. The documentary will be presented at the Platino Awards for Latin American films.
The producer, Javier Limón, travelled around a number of Latin American countries, as well as Spain, Portugal and the United States, to bring together prestigious artists including Michel Camillo, Alain Pérez and Inma Cuesta to participate in the "Flying Tour".
Photographic exhibition
Iberia and EFE opened a photographic exhibition in the Casa de América on these 75 years of flights between Europe and Latin America. Those attending will be able to enjoy images of the first planes, the crews from those years, the service on board and the airline's historical advertising.
The exhibition will be open from 20 to 27 September, from 11am to 7:30pm from Monday to Friday, and on Saturday until 3pm. Admission is free.
This winter, more than 200 flights to Latin America
Iberia's commitment to Latin America includes a gradual recovery of its programme of routes, and during the winter season, there will be over 200 direct flights a week to 17 destinations in 15 countries in the region.
The airline has scheduled growth in a number of countries especially including Mexico, Dominican Republic and Colombia, and has also planned more flights throughout Central America and Uruguay.
Image of the first flight to Latin America in September 1946. Part of the photographic exhibition shown at the Casa América. Photograph of Iberia's special flights to transport medical supplies and vaccines to Latin America.
Flights for repatriation, medical supplies and vaccines
During the most difficult months of the pandemic, Iberia always maintained connectivity between Spain and Latin America and there were over 60 repatriation special flights to Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay, helping thousands of people to return home.
Right from the start Iberia felt that it was its duty to make itself available to society and this also made it possible to transport tons of medical supplies to this region and, more recently, vaccines to countries like El Salvador, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, Montevideo, Ecuador and Peru.
