Airlines Boost Capacity As Rail Network Faces Operational Challenges

Airlines in Spain have responded quickly to the country’s rail network crisis, which has been affected by several accidents and operational reliability issues. Iberia and Air Europa have increased capacity on key routes, with Iberia adding over 27,000 seats and Air Europa adding over 8,600 seats. The airlines have also introduced price caps, with Iberia setting a maximum price of €99 for economy class tickets on the Barcelona to Madrid route. Vueling has relaunched its flights on this route, which it had abandoned in March 2025. The measures are in place until at least February 19, 2026, and were first reported by AeroTime.