TEHRAN – Iran’s flag carrier Homa, known internationally as IranAir resumed flights to the Spanish city of Madrid on Wednesday, after 17 years.

The round flights are scheduled once a week on Wednesdays from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport by closely observing healthcare protocols, according to the airport’s official website.

Back in August, the Iranian embassy in Spain announced that the license of IranAir service for the Tehran-Madrid route has been received as per coordination made by the Iranian embassy, the Civil Aviation Organization, and IranAir with Spanish domestic institutions.

The Iranian mission in Madrid has made a great deal of effort on the resumption of the service, which had been suspended since the beginning of 2001, and hopes that this important step in bilateral relations can strengthen the ties between the two nations.

Back in January, Tehran’s envoy to Madrid Hassan Qashqavi drew public attention to Iran’s tourism capacities in a meeting held on the sidelines of a ceremony for the 40th FITUR tourism trade fair. Referring to a 50 percent growth in the number of Spanish tourists to Iran over the past year, Qashqavi said that Iran is among the top ten countries in terms of tourist attractions diversity. The envoy pointed to the remarkable capacities of the two countries for widening cooperation in the fields of tourism, cultural heritage, and handicrafts, voicing Iran's readiness for promoting collaboration in those spheres.

In December 2019, Spanish Charge d’Affaires to Tehran, Jose Luis Solano, said, “I believe that there are very good tourism relations between the two countries as we have many requests each year from Iranians for [obtaining] visas and traveling to Spain.” Iran is a country that is highly important in terms of culture and it embraces all the necessary attractions for Spanish tourists who like to travel to the country, he added. “Every year we see an increase in the number of Spanish visitors to Iran, and this is constant growth.”

ABU/MG