Ceará officially joins the international network of the Spanish airline Iberia with the arrival of the inaugural flight linking Fortaleza to Madrid. The new route, which started on Monday (19/01), marks a historic moment for the state's connectivity with Europe and expands Ceará's presence in the main markets for international tourists.

The operation will begin with three weekly frequencies, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with arrivals at 16:50 and departures at 18:20, and will be progressively expanded throughout 2026. From April 12, there will be five weekly frequencies, increasing the number of seats and connection options for passengers departing from Ceará and other regions of Brazil.

The direct connection with Madrid, one of Europe's main air hubs, extends Ceará's international reach and facilitates access to dozens of European destinations and those on other continents served by Iberia's network, strengthening Pinto Martins International Airport's position as a strategic point for international flights in the Northeast.

We are very happy with the start of this new international route with Iberia, as it consolidates Fortaleza Airport as an important hub from Brazil to Europe. We will continue to strive to offer operational excellence and the best airport infrastructure," said Pedro Navega, Fraport Brazil's commercial aviation manager.

"The opening of the Fortaleza route represents a new and important milestone in our operation in Brazil, because with this new destination that we are inaugurating today, we now have flights to four cities, which will allow us to offer a totally record capacity in Brazil this year, as well as being the only country in Latin America that has flights to four different airports. All this shows that Iberia's commitment to Brazil is very strong and will continue to be so in the future," says María Jesús López Solás, Iberia's Commercial, Network Development and Alliances Director.

The implementation of the route is the result of coordination between the State Government, through the Ceará Tourism Department (Setur), Embratur and Iberia, as part of the strategy to strengthen the internationalization of tourism in Ceará and attract new flows of European visitors.

According to Governor Elmano de Freitas, the addition of Iberia flights between Fortaleza and Madrid is essential for Ceará at this time of consolidation of international tourism in the state. "We are confident that this partnership will greatly strengthen our state and already leads us to project even stronger figures than last year, when Ceará received a total of 3.48 million tourists, representing an increase of 8.35% compared to 2024. In addition to the economic impact of the increased flow of passengers in our state, Ceará's favorable geographical position will also play an important role in bringing passengers from other states in the North and Northeast via Iberia, boosting the region with these new flight frequencies."

Flights will be operated with Airbus A321XLR aircraft, the latest generation model for long-haul routes, with greater operational efficiency and passenger comfort. The expectation is for positive impacts on the tourism production chain, especially in the hotel, services, gastronomy and commerce sectors.

Ceará's Secretary of Tourism, Eduardo Bismarck, highlights this new flight as a great opportunity for Ceará to increase its attraction of tourists, strengthen business generation and open the door even wider to new investments. "As determined by the Governor, we maintain a permanent and close dialog with Iberia, because we understand that connectivity is strategic for the development of tourism and Ceará's economy. We are very happy with the arrival of this first flight and we will continue to work to ensure that Ceará welcomes these visitors, promoting our state in international markets and ensuring that this new route is a great success. I have no doubt that it will be."