Iberia Airlines plans to start flying from its home country, Spain, to DFW International Airport next year, the CEO of the carrier’s parent company said on Friday.

International Airlines Group CEO Luis Gallego has announced the new route which is expected to start operating next summer as part of the company’s third quarter earnings call. Flights will likely originate from Madrid, its largest base, but could also originate from Barcelona, ​​which does not have direct service to DFW Airport.

Speaking of next summer’s schedule, Gallego said: “Iberia will operate at 105% of its 2019 capacity due to the introduction of routes to Dallas and Washington, DC”

Gallego gave few details on the new routes other than saying the company will also fly to Washington, DC The company has not returned a request for more details.

Iberia only flies to the United States from Madrid Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport and Barcelona Airport. DFW Airport is the only option of the two North Texas airports, as Dallas Love Field cannot accept international flights due to complex service agreements that govern the relationship between Love Field and DFW.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic killed demand for international travel, Iberia had flown to Washington’s Dulles International Airport.

Iberia did not provide additional details on when the new routes will start, how often they will fly, or what planes they will use. Iberia, headquartered in the Spanish capital, is Spain’s national airline.

Iberia is a sister company of British Airways, which also serves DFW Airport, and Irish airline Aer Lingus.

The announcement came just days before the United States was set to adopt new pandemic-era travel guidelines that significantly open up travel from Europe, Asia and the United States. other regions of the world previously restricted.

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Iberia has never had regular service to DFW Airport, although this has been a growing possibility since Iberia and British Airways joined the OneWorld airline alliance run by American Airlines in 2008. DFW Airport even applauded the partnership in 2008 and said it could “open up potential new routes from DFW to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

This partnership made it possible to offer a service to Madrid for the DFW airport, as American Airlines began to serve Madrid and has maintained these routes until today. In fact, the partnership has given Fort Worth-based American Airlines one of its most important connections to Europe, as passengers can easily purchase tickets on either airline through their codeshare agreement and go through Madrid to any of Iberia’s 88 destinations or passengers arriving from Spain. can fly to DFW and connect to North America.

American Airlines still has DFW flights to Madrid scheduled until the end of 2022, according to Diio by Cirium.

The new DFW and Washington, DC service would offer Iberia eight destinations in the United States, including Boston, New York, Miami, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles.