Iberia Archives - usatoday24

Iberia is going to charge up to 140 euros extra for checking in irregular luggage. Now we just need to know what “irregular luggage” is.

February 12, 2026 by usatoday24

Since January 28, Iberia has already an additional charge applies for checking in irregularly shaped luggage. What do you mean by irregular luggage? It’s a good question. From Iberia they assure that everything that is soft bags, plastic packages, round or oval packages and any non-rigid packaging that could interfere with the airport’s automatic systems, are susceptible to a surcharge. But it is worth qualifying. Irregular luggage. The airline define Irregular baggage is any package whose shape, material or dimensions may create problems in airport baggage handling systems, as indicated in its official statement. This includes duffel bags, oversized soft backpacks, plastic-wrapped packages, or any object that is not the typical rectangular shape of a hard suitcase. The company assures that this type of luggage blocks automated conveyor belts and complicates stacking in aircraft holds. Just like share In La Voz de Galicia, airlines argue that the handling of non-regular packages represents one of their biggest logistical problems, since the automated systems are designed specifically for rectangular suitcases and these objects can get caught in the sensors or prevent the passage of the rest of the checked luggage. Route Domestic flights (except Canary Islands) Canary Islands / Europe / Africa America/Asia By route (origin-destination) €35/$45/£35 €60 / $75 / £55 €125 / $150 / £110 Connecting flights €40/$50/£35 €70 / $80 / £65 €140/$165/£125 How much does the new rate cost? The amount varies depending on the route and whether the flight includes connections. On domestic flights within the peninsula and the Balearic Islands, the charge is 35 euros each way. For destinations such as the Canary Islands, Europe or Africa, it amounts to 60 euros. On intercontinental routes to America or Asia, the rate reaches 125 euros. If the trip includes connections, these amounts rise to 40, 70 and 140 euros respectively. Iberia clarifies that this charge is added to the price of the luggage, although if the ticket already includes a checked bag, only the additional amount will be paid. Fees apply regardless of whether the passenger has already paid for checked baggage. How it works in practice. According to they count From Iberia, the airline staff will assess each case at the special baggage check-in counter and decide whether or not to accept the bag. Furthermore, it warns that in exceptional situations the luggage may not travel on the same flight as the passenger and may be transported in a special hold or on a later flight. The airline recommends using rectangular or proportioned rigid suitcases to avoid these extra charges and incidents. Differences with special luggage. This new rate is independent of the charges that Iberia already applied for special luggage such as musical instruments, sports equipment or bicycles, which have their own rates. Golf equipment, skis, fishing rods, skates or rackets cost between 30 and 40 euros if booked online, and between 60 and 66 euros if purchased at the airport. Bicycles cost between 65 and 72 euros on domestic flights, while surfboards range from 70 to 77 euros. Musical instruments are the most expensive, with rates ranging between 150 and 330 euros depending on the duration of the flight, and can only be arranged directly at the airports. Cover image | Miguel Angel Sanz In Xataka | Flying in “Business” class is the new trend among low-cost airlines. In all except one: Ryanair

In January a SpaceX rocket exploded. Today we know the danger that an Iberia plane was in with 450 passengers in the air

December 23, 2025 by usatoday24

On January 16, while air traffic in the Caribbean continued its usual routine, three commercial airliners were thrust into a situation that until recently belonged more to science fiction than civil aviation: passing through a possible cloud of rocket debris in mid-flight. Iberia under a space rain. It was a JetBlue plane heading to San Juan, another Iberia plane and a private jet that ended up declaring fuel emergencies and crossing a temporary exclusion zone hastily activated after the Starship explosion from SpaceX a few minutes after taking off. Altogether, about 450 people were traveling on those planes, which ultimately landed without incident, but internal documents of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reveal that the real risk was much higher than what was publicly known at that time. When the protocol is behind. The Starship explosion caused almost 50 minutes a rain of incandescent fragments over large areas of the Caribbean, a scenario in which the impact of a single piece of debris against an airplane could have had catastrophic consequences. However, the warning chain did not work as planned: SpaceX did not immediately report the failure through the official hotline, and some controllers learned of the incident because the pilots themselves they started reporting “intense fire and fragments” visible from the cabin. The exclusion zones were activated late and, furthermore, only covered US airspace with radar, leaving out pockets of international space where, in theory, flying could continue despite the risk. The result was a extreme workload for controllers and situations of added danger, such as excessive proximity between aircraft that forced intervention to avoid a collision. Impossible decisions at 10,000 meters. In the air, theory became a practical dilemma. The pilots were raised a choice that no manual comfortably contemplates: deviate and take risks to run out of fuel over the ocean or continue through an area where space debris could fall. In at least two cases, the only way out was declare emergency to be able to land. Iberia later maintained that its plane crossed the area when debris was no longer falling, and JetBlue assured that its flights avoided the points where debris was detected, but FAA records describe a tense situation in which decisions were made with incomplete information and under extreme pressure. A structural problem. The incident set off alarms both in the airline industry and in the US Government itself, not only because of what happened in January, but because of what comes next. The FAA plans to go from a historical average of about two dozen launches and reentries annually to managing between 200 and 400 every year for the foreseeable future. A good part of this increase goes through Starship, the most powerful system ever developed, with more than 120 meters high and trajectories that, in future missions, will fly over busy air routes in the North Atlantic, Florida or Mexico. The industry’s own history reminds us that the development of new rockets involves failures: approximately one third of launchers active since 2000 failed on their first flight. Half review. After the explosion January, the FAA convened a panel of experts to review protocols for failed launch debris, an initiative that took on even more urgency after another Starship that exploded in March. That second incident was managed better from the aerial point of view, closing loopholes in exclusion zones and avoiding fuel emergencies, and the panel came to identify high risks for aviation safety, such as forced diversions or overloading of controllers. However, in August the agency suspended unexpectedly that internal review, claiming that many recommendations were already being implemented and that the issue would be addressed at another regulatory level, a decision that surprised even some group participants. The defense of SpaceX. SpaceX responded calling the published information misleading and reiterating that public safety is always its priority, ensuring that no plane was really in danger. Your address insist in which the collaboration with the FAA is close and proposes solutions such as real-time monitoring of vehicles and possible debris, so that a problematic launch can be managed almost like a meteorological phenomenon. Meanwhile, the company has moved forward with new evidence of Starship, some longer before disintegrating and others staying within the planned profile, and preparing an even more powerful version for next year. As recognized Its CEO, Elon Musk, is a radical design that will likely have “growing pains.” A warning from heaven. What happened in January was not only a specific scarebut an early warning of a problem that is barely starts to take shape: the increasingly closer coexistence between commercial aviation and a rapidly accelerating space industry. The night when pilots tthey had to choose between the fuel and a rain of space debris showed that current protocols are not fully prepared for this new scenario. The challenge is no longer just to launch bigger rockets more often, but to ensure that the price of that progress is not paid at 10,000 meters above sea level, with hundreds of passengers trapped between the sky and the sea. Image | Adam Moreira (AEMoreira042281), NARA In Xataka | China is launching more rockets into space than ever before. And the reason is very simple: not to depend on Starlink In Xataka | Google doesn’t have rockets, but it is going to install data centers in space. SpaceX and Blue Origin rub their hands

Using free WiFi on airplanes almost never ends well. Iberia wants to change that with the help of Starlink

November 7, 2025 by usatoday24

IAG, the group to which Iberia belongs, has closed an agreement with Starlink to equip their planes with satellite connectivity. The Spanish airline promises that all its passengers They will be able to sail for free from 2026 with speeds comparable to those at home. Best free WiFi from the plane. Until now, wifi on airplanes It used to be slow, expensive or non-existent. With this agreement, Iberia ensures that it will offer free high-speed connection on all its flights, both short and long distance, regardless of the class in which the passenger travels. According to the company, Starlink technology It will allow download speeds of up to 450 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 70 Mbps, enough to watch streaming series, work in the cloud or play online while flying. How Starlink works. The SpaceX network is based on thousands of satellites located in low Earth orbit, which reduces latency and allows coverage even in remote areas or areas with poor accessibility. This infrastructure is what gives Starlink an advantage over other air connectivity providers, which rely on slower geostationary satellites or limited ground connections. Beyond Iberia. The agreement is not limited to the Spanish airline. IAG will implement the service on more than 500 aircraft of its companies: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Vueling and Level. According to the matrix, this will make the group the European operator with the most aircraft equipped with high-speed Wi-Fi. The first plane with Starlink will begin flying in early 2026, according to the airline in your press release. Part of a broader bet. This movement is part of the Iberia Flight Plan 2030which includes 6,000 million euros in investments. Part of that budget is allocated to digitalization, artificial intelligence and the creation of the so-called ‘Iberia City’, an aeronautical innovation center. Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, pointed out that “staying connected in flight is increasingly important for customers” and that this agreement demonstrates how the group works “together to drive innovation.” The Elon Musk factor. Starlink is owned by SpaceX, the aerospace company founded and run by Elon Musk. Although the technology has proven its effectiveness In other sectors, from rural areas without coverage to military operations in Ukraine, its integration into commercial aviation is still in the initial phase. IAG thus joins other airlines such as Qatar Airways or Hawaiian Airlines, which have already announced similar agreements with Starlink. Cover image | Alexander Schimmeck In Xataka | The inevitable increase in air travel is leading us to a reality: there are no places, no planes, no planet for so many tourists.

In 2019, Iberia lost a dog before flying. Now the European Justice says that it is worth the same as a suitcase

October 17, 2025 by usatoday24

After six years of trials, the Court of Justice of the European Union has issued its verdict: a dog is a suitcase. The question that the European court had to resolve is whether the loss of a pet should entail greater compensation than that contemplated for a suitcase. And the response has been blunt. October 22, 2019. That was the day an Argentine family lost their dog Mona. That day, the family was at the Ezeiza airport, next to Buenos Aires, to travel to Barcelona. Given the company’s regulations, Mona had to travel in a carrier in the hold of the plane, but during the loading operation, the dog escaped from the control of the operators and, scared, ran towards the runway. They explained those days in The Vanguard that Grisel, its owner, was completely sure that she had closed the cage properly. However, once they were seated, a flight attendant approached to notify them of what had happened and confirm that the dog had escaped. The mother, who was accompanying Grisel, then claimed to have seen her dog running away and the workers trying to catch her but they were not allowed to get off the plane. Loss. After this first moment of anguish had passed, the family claimed that the Iberia workers confirmed that the dog had been trapped and that they had to give them a telephone number so that a contact could come get the animal at the airport. However, when Christian, the owner’s brother, went to the airport, they told him that the dog had escaped again and that they had not been able to catch her. Since then, the family did everything possible to investigate in the vicinity of the airport if the animal was nearby but with no luck. Iberia’s response. Then, the family was already indicating that they were unhappy with how Iberia had handled the situation. “We do not have any type of response from the airline. Iberia tells us that as happened in Argentina, nothing can be done from Spain,” they explained to the Catalan newspaper at the time. For its part, from Iberia in Argentina, the company assured Clarion that they were very sorry for what happened and that both Iberia and the airport manager kept the search active. According to her version, the animal “broke one of the sides of the cage and escaped. Before shipping any cage with an animal inside, we always seal the opening doors to prevent the animal from opening it and escaping. However, Mona broke the opposite side of the cage and that’s why she got out.” They confirm that the workers managed to recover Mona but she bit the worker’s arms and face, fleeing again. “Non-material damage”. Given the animal was lost, the family decided to report Iberia to claim compensation for what happened. Given the seriousness of the matter, the family requested that the company pay 5,000 euros for “non-material damages”, which Iberia refused, they explain in Guardian. They explain in the English newspaper that Iberia agreed to compensate for the loss of the animal since it had escaped under the responsibility of its workers. However, they were not willing to pay more than would be paid for the loss of any luggage. That is, they would pay but the same amount that they would pay for the loss of a suitcase. Europe agrees… with Iberia. During a process that has lasted six years, since the Madrid game they escalated the debate in 2024 to the Court of Justice of the European Union who, finally, ruled in favor of Iberia. The company will compensate the family as if they had lost a suitcase. That is to say, just under 1,600 euros which is the maximum amount contemplated for these cases. When the issue was brought to the European court, Iberia defended itself, arguing that “It makes no sense to equate animals with people. The owner, the only one who fully understands the animal, is the one who chooses to expose it to the often stressful and challenging experience of traveling by plane.” And he stressed that “it is his responsibility to prepare it for the trip, assume the risk of exposing it to an inhospitable environment and guarantee its veterinary aptitude. But the most important thing is that only he can assess the deep emotional bond with his pet and, therefore, the moral damage he would suffer if something happened to him during transport.” How is a pet valued? According to the Court of Justice of the European Unionvery simply: a special declaration of the value of the pet. This is what, in the opinion of the European court, the family should have signed and the company accepted. When this agreement is reached, the company agrees to pay a higher compensation if something happens but the passenger also pays a surcharge for the transportation of the animal. This is, in the opinion of Carlos Villa Corta, the family’s lawyer, a “missed opportunity to continue raising awareness about the rights of animals and the people who care for them. The Court of Justice of the European Union considers that pets do not deserve special or improved legal protection compared to a simple suitcase,” in words reported by Guardian. What the European court alleges is that the Montreal Convention that regulates these cases speaks of “people and luggage” and that, therefore, the term people would cover the damages to the “passenger” and that everything else must be considered as luggage. And they emphasize: “the fact that the protection of animal welfare is an objective of general interest recognized by the European Union does not prevent animals from being transported as ‘baggage’ and being considered as such for the purposes of liability resulting from the loss of an animal.” Photo | TA-WEI LIN and Miguel Angel Sanz In Xataka | What the law says about breaking a car window when a dog is suffering from heat stroke

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