20th anniversary of the route that connects Montevideo with Madrid non-stop
This flight left Madrid on July 6, 2004, making Iberia the first airline to connect Europe with the Uruguayan capital non-stop
Iberia celebrates the 20th anniversary of a milestone in its operation with Uruguay, since on July 6, 2004 the first direct flight between both countries took place, which made the company the first airline to fly non-stop between Montevideo and Europe.
This change allowed the journey time to be reduced by more than three hours, since previously Iberia customers seeking to reach the country had to fly via Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro.
This flight, which initially had three weekly frequencies operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Madrid airport, was carried out aboard an Airbus A340-300 aircraft, equipped with the latest technology and a configuration of 250 seats.
Despite the 20th anniversary of the direct operation between Montevideo and Madrid, it is worth mentioning that the route that connects Uruguay and Europe will turn 78 years old on September 22, since the Uruguayan capital was one of the stops made by the first Iberia plane to cross the Atlantic bound for Buenos Aires, in 1946.
While the journey to connect Uruguay and Europe directly began with three weekly frequencies, this figure has been increasing until reaching seven weekly frequencies in 2024. In fact, this year the route between both countries will have a direct flight throughout the year, something that has not happened until now.
This will allow the route between Uruguay and Spain to have just over 200,000 seats this year, which represents a growth of 3% compared to 2023 and almost 20% compared to pre-pandemic figures.
This is a route that Iberia operates entirely with the Airbus A330-200, a very efficient aircraft, as it offers a reduction of around 15% in fuel consumption, and has capacity for 288 passengers, in Business and Economy configuration.
