Iberia planning special eclipse flight for 12 August

On Wednesday, 12 August, an Iberia Airbus A321XLR will depart Madrid for Madrid, by way of the moon’s shadow.

Iberia has organized the special flight to observe the total solar eclipse as it crosses northern Spain. The aircraft will fly above 33,000 feet, following a specially designed route over the province of Palencia to give the scientists and guests on board the best possible view.

You’ll be able to follow along with this special flight on Flightradar24 and watch a view of the eclipse via a live stream from onboard the aircraft.

Flight 1473 isn’t just a random flight number. IB1473 commemorates the birth year of Nicolaus Copernicus, whose model placing the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the solar system helped transform our understanding of the universe.

According to Iberia’s announcement, IB1473 will depart Madrid-Barajas at 18:45 local time (16:45 UTC) and position over Palencia ahead of totality. After observing the eclipse, the aircraft will return to Madrid.

Captain Javier Lopera Alcalá will lead the crew, joined by First Officer Javier Meana Fernández, who also has training in astrophysics.

Iberia’s A321XLR observatory

Flying above 33,000 feet keeps IB1473 above the clouds and much of the lower atmosphere that can interfere with observations from the ground. This will be particularly useful for this eclipse because totality will cross Spain shortly before sunset, when the Sun will already be low on the horizon.

Researchers from the Shelios project will use the flight as an airborne observatory to study the Sun’s morphology and corona—the faint outer atmosphere that becomes visible when the Moon completely covers the bright solar disc. Because of the nature of the flight and path of the eclipse, conditions may also allow them to see Venus, Mercury and bright stars surrounding the eclipsed Sun.

The project is led by astronomer Miquel Serra-Ricart, scientific director of Light Bridges and a researcher at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.

Iberia plans to use the high-speed Starlink connectivity being introduced across its fleet to broadcast live video from the aircraft through the airline’s social media channels.

DO NOT LOOK AT THE ECLIPSE WITHOUT
PROPER EYE PROTECTION

Spain’s first total eclipse in more than a century

The 12 August eclipse will cross Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and a small part of Portugal. A partial eclipse will be visible across a much larger area covering most of Europe, much of Canada, parts of the northern United States and northwestern Africa.

The event will be the first total solar eclipse visible from mainland Spain since 1905. The path of totality will cross Spain from west to east, passing through areas including León, Bilbao, Zaragoza and Valencia before continuing toward the Balearic Islands.

In northern Spain, totality will occur at approximately 20:29 CEST, although the exact time and duration vary by location. The European Space Agency expects the Moon’s shadow to cross the Iberian Peninsula between approximately 20:27 and 20:32 CEST.

For most locations, totality will last less than two minutes. During that brief interval, the Moon will completely cover the Sun’s bright face and reveal the corona.

How to track IB1473 on Flightradar24

The easiest way to find the eclipse flight is by searching for its flight number, IB1473.

Visit Flightradar24.com or open the Flightradar24 mobile app around 16:45 UTC on 12 August and search IB1473 then watch as the aircraft begins its special journey into the shadow of the moon.

Flightradar24 subscribers can create a Custom Alert for IB1473 either via email or in the app. Set the alert before 12 August and Flightradar24 can notify you when the flight becomes active or departs Madrid.

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