Kurumoch international airport (part of Airports of Regions Holding) has received the first flight of Iberia airlines, the national carrier of Spain. The wide-body Airbus-330-200, performing a flight from Madrid to Samara, landed at Kurumoch at 20.00. By tradition, the new airline was welcomed by a water arch on the apron. Iberia has brought 283 passengers and 4.5 tons of baggage to support the Costa Rica national team which will play in the first match of the 2018 World Cup in Samara together with the national team of Serbia.
Iberia is one of the oldest airlines in Europe, and began flying in 1927. The route network has about 90 directions. There are 131 aircraft (including regional and cargo ones) in the carrier's fleet. In 2016, Iberia was named the most punctual airline. It had not performed flights to Samara until that time. Iberia is a member of Oneworld, an aviation alliance.
Servicing of the Airbus-330-200 type aircraft at Samara airport became possible after the renovation and commissioning of the second runway in December 2017. Runway-2 is 3,001 meters long and 45 meters wide, with PCN (Pavement Classification Number) of 82/R/C/X/T; the runway is paved with asphalt concrete. These characteristics of Runway-2 make it possible to serve practically all modern long-range aircraft.