Iberia to resume direct flights after suspension due to Covid-19 A fleet of 16 A-350 aircraft will serve the route (no TAP). But how to avoid Russian airspace?
4. Tokyo, Japan
It is now possible to fly directly to Japan from the Iberian Peninsula. Iberia will resume its flights to the country of the rising sun after four years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The flight between Barajas and Narita airports takes a total of 14 hours non-stop, on an Airbus A350-900 with a capacity of 330 passengers. Iberia has 16 of these long-haul flights on its route (no TAP).
The company flies to Japan every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, with flights in the opposite direction every Monday, Friday and Sunday.
But is Russian airspace still closed? Exactly. That’s why the return flight takes 16 hours. The company was to leave Japan eastward, turn north, turn west again, circle northern Russia via Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and Greenland, then descend south toward Madrid. (See below for some examples)
Wind is another important reason why the plane did not take off from Japan and fly west on the same route it took from Spain. As Iberia said in December 2023, the northern flight has very favorable winds to fly back to Europe.
But avoiding Russia is nothing new. During the Cold War, European airlines also did not fly over the Soviet Union.
The company will have a large crew: 10 cabin crew, including two commanders, two co-pilots and three Japanese.
There are no direct flights from Portugal to Japan.
An A350 aircraft will cover a distance of 12,300 km, and the flight distance between Madrid and Tokyo is 10,700 km.
The Spanish company, which is owned by IAG (which is interested in the privatization of TAP), expects this new route to help generate 100 million euros in each country’s GDP, and to create 1,900 direct and indirect jobs.
“We offer the only option to connect Spain and Japan directly, non-stop, and we already do three times a week, with 90,000 seats between the two countries in the first year of operation. Our ambition is to increase the frequency of flights in 2025 and offer passengers even more opportunities,” said Marco Sansavini, President of Iberia. , citing “Cinco Diaz.”
Flights between Europe and Asia. As Russian airspace is closed, companies are flying further south. Source: Flightradar
A Japan Airlines flight between Tokyo and London. The plane moves northward, crosses northern Russia, passes Alaska and Greenland, and begins its descent toward Europe. Source: Flightradar
Helsinki-Tokyo flight. Finnair uses the North Pole route to fly between Europe and Japan. Flytrader
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”