Iberia will operate a special charter flight on an Airbus A321XLR to view the total solar eclipse visible over Spain on 12 August, linking Madrid-Barajas with an observation route over Palencia province. The flight, numbered IB1473, will carry researchers from the Shelios project and will be streamed live on Iberia’s social media channels using Starlink-enabled onboard connectivity.
The route is designed to place passengers above the cloud layer during the eclipse window, improving visibility for scientific observation and live coverage. Astronomer Miquel Serra-Ricart and his team plan to use the cruise-altitude vantage point to study the Sun’s morphology and monitor nearby celestial objects including Venus, Mercury and visible stars.
The operation combines a long-range narrowbody showcase with a public science mission and a connectivity demonstration. Iberia is progressively installing Starlink across its fleet, and the eclipse flight provides one of the clearest uses yet for in-flight broadband in live event broadcasting. The IB1473 call sign also references the birth year of Nicolaus Copernicus.