GIBRALTAR – Spain and Britain have been squabbling over Gibraltar for 300 years, but two one-hour flights Saturday signaled they could be willing to put the dispute behind them.
The direct commercial flights were the first ever between Spain and the British colony on its southern tip. As part of its diplomatic battle to win back the Rock, Spain had previously blocked flights to the 2.25-square-mile territory of 28,000 people.
Before a September deal opening the Gibraltar-Spain route, the colony’s only airlinks were with Britain.
On Saturday, an Iberia Airlines Airbus A319 landed in Gibraltar from Spain, while a GB Airways flight made the reverse trip. Iberia will now run a daily round-trip flight to Gibraltar.
“This is extremely important. It opens possibilities for the citizens of this area but it also opens a window of evolution for the future,” Spain’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Bernardino Leon said on the tarmac, with Gibraltar’s landmark 1,400-foot limestone rock looming behind him.
Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 but never relinquished its claim to it. Gen. Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator, shut the border in 1969 and it didn’t fully reopen until 1985.
The September accord came after Spain’s new Socialist government agreed to give Gibraltar an equal voice in talks concerning its future. The three sides then decided to put Gibraltar’s sovereignty issue on hold while they resolve more basic differences.
In centuries past, the territory was considered of maximum strategic importance to Britain as the western gateway to the Mediterranean Sea. Now, Spain and Britain are European and NATO allies, making the Gibraltar dispute less important.
“Hopefully we’ll begin to put the whole conflict behind us,” said 22-year-old Gibraltarian Nicholas Benyunes at the Gibraltar airport. “I mean it’s a historical battle but it’s out of date now. We are both part of Europe and the modern world.”
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