Iberia Launches Its New Route to the Land of Santa Claus with a Full House

• Santa Claus welcomed the passengers of the inaugural Iberia flight at Rovaniemi airport.

• Iberia will operate the scheduled flight between Madrid and Rovaniemi until 10 February 2024 with two weekly frequencies.

• The route between Madrid and Rovaniemi is operated by an Airbus A320neo aircraft, the most efficient and technologically advanced of Iberia's short- and medium-haul fleet.

This weekend Iberia launched its new route to Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, and became the first airline to operate regular direct flights from Madrid to the official hometown of Santa Claus.

The route was inaugurated with a full house -183 clients- on flight IB3384 on 2 December. The inaugural flight had many surprises in store for passengers, such as reindeer-shaped cookies and stickers and letters from Santa Claus for the little ones. In addition, Iberia's cabin crew wore bells on their lanyards to look like Santa Claus's helpers.

The most special moment took place upon arriving at Rovaniemi airport, when Iberia’s passengers received a visit from Santa Claus. The youngest passengers had the chance to hand-deliver the letters they had written on the plane.

This new regular Iberia flight will be available until 10 February 2024 with two weekly frequencies, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Customers can purchase tickets to visit Rovaniemi from €199 each way when buying a round trip. In total, almost 7,000 seats have been on sale.

The route between Madrid and Rovaniemi is operated by an Airbus 320neo aircraft, the most efficient and technologically advanced in Iberia's short- and medium-haul fleet. It is equipped with Leap-1A type CFM engines, making it 50% quieter, and reducing emissions by between 15 and 20%.

Visit Santa's Official Hometown

Since 2010, Rovaniemi has officially been the hometown of Santa Claus and it is possible to visit the area's most famous resident every day of the year in Santa Claus's Village, located in the Arctic Circle. Santa Claus's Village is home to many activities, shops, restaurants, and cafes. Visitors can enjoy dog and reindeer sleigh rides, snowmobile tours, and visit ice and snow constructions. According to traffic data from Rovaniemi airport, Spain ranked fourth among European countries by number of visitors, behind the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. In 2022, nearly 19,000 visitors flew from Spain to Lapland, 7% more than the figure recorded in 2021, showcasing the importance of the Spanish market for the Finnish region, where is increasingly establishing itself as an issuer of tourists.

The Santa Claus Village is the best-known attraction in Lapland and its tourist destination par excellence, but it is not all it has to offer. Every year, Rovaniemi draws more than 500,000 travellers from all over the world thanks to its many attractions, which, in addition to visiting Santa Claus, range from practicing winter sports to watching the northern lights.