Air connections between Menorca and Madrid increase during the less busy months. The Iberia Group—comprising Iberia, Iberia Express, and Air Nostrum—will operate three daily flights between Madrid and Menorca during the upcoming winter season, from November to March, compared to the two daily flights previously operated by Air Nostrum.
The increase is not just the result of a commercial decision by the company. Iberia has been awarded the new contract, launched by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, to operate this route under the Public Service Obligation (PSO) regime, a mechanism designed to safeguard certain routes considered strategic for regional connectivity.
The new schedule will offer 27 percent more seats than under the previous contract, a figure that is especially significant for an island whose air links are heavily influenced by the seasonal nature of tourism. Tickets for the new service are now on sale, and the schedule has been designed to cover different time slots throughout the week. Two of the flights will operate daily, while the third will vary depending on the day of the week, offering more flexibility for both business and leisure travel.
From Madrid, daily flights will depart at 11:35 AM and 8:15 PM, while the third flight will operate at different times depending on the day of the week. In the opposite direction, there will be daily flights from Maó at 7:00 AM and 1:45 PM, supplemented by a third service with variable departure times.
Reduce dependence on the high season
The decision has implications that go beyond a one-time increase in flights. For an island economy like Menorca’s, maintaining stable transport links throughout the winter is one of the factors that can help reduce dependence on the months with the highest levels of tourist activity.
“This additional daily flight meets the needs of our customers, both business and leisure travelers, and helps reduce seasonality,” says Antonio Linares, Iberia’s Sales Director for Spain, Portugal, and North Africa. The strategy has a second dimension: Madrid is not just the final destination for passengers from Menorca. Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport serves as the group’s main hub, so the increased flight frequency allows Menorca to be connected to Iberia’s international network, which includes more than 100 destinations.
In practice, the increase in flight frequency between Maó and Madrid also opens up more travel options from the island to other European, American, and African destinations by using the capital as a hub.
This winter push follows a significant expansion of the group’s capacity in Menorca during the summer season. Iberia Express expects to end this period with around 1,200 flights and more than 230,000 seats, which represents a 17 percent increase compared to 2025. During peak demand weeks, the airline operates an average of 56 weekly flights between Madrid and Menorca, with up to five daily flights on certain days.
The difference between the two operations is significant. Although summer accounts for a substantial share of tourism-related demand, the new PSO contract guarantees a network of connections during the winter months, when the market is smaller and maintaining capacity may be less attractive from a purely commercial standpoint.
Kill two birds with one stone
For Iberia, therefore, Menorca has become a route where two interests converge: the obligation to guarantee connectivity considered essential and the opportunity to feed its international network from Madrid. This is because a passenger departing from Menorca can fly to Madrid and, from there, connect to another Iberia flight to any of the company’s more than 100 international destinations. The measure also consolidates the role of the three airlines of the Iberia Group in the Balearic Islands. Air Nostrum will continue to operate the route throughout the winter under the new contract, while Iberia Express will handle much of the seasonal increase in services during the peak demand months.
The result is a schedule designed to serve both ends of the market: more capacity when the island receives the highest number of visitors, and improved connectivity during the winter, when it is especially important for residents, businesses, and the local economy to maintain regular connections with the mainland.
