Airlines ran special flights to observe the solar eclipse

Several airlines and private aviation firms organized special flights so passengers could watch the solar eclipse from high altitude on 12 August. Carriers arranged both commercial and chartered services over parts of Europe, offering views above cloud cover and — in some cases — access to scientists and live broadcasts.

Brussels Airlines sold a flight carrying about 100 passengers over France to observe the partial eclipse. Operated in partnership with the Urania Public Observatory in Switzerland, the four-hour experience was advertised to include roughly two hours aloft; aisle seats were left free to give people more room to move and look through windows. Tickets were priced at about $350 per person and the flight was reported sold out.

Private jets and dedicated charters

The Urania Observatory also teamed up with ASL Group for a dedicated flight from Liège on a private Embraer E135; seats on that sold-out service cost roughly $920 per person. Separately, the UK-based Air Charter Service offered special flights from London that would position passengers to see totality from one of three possible viewing points: Valladolid or the Balearic Islands in Spain, or Reykjavík, Iceland. Those charters were priced at about $1,200 per passenger. Food and drink — including alcohol — were to be served on the return legs, and approved telescopic equipment was allowed on board.

Iberia operated a non-public scientific charter from Madrid to a viewing area in northern Spain; the carrier planned to livestream the flight on its social channels using fast Starlink Wi‑Fi on the aircraft. Researchers from the Shelios project, led by astronomer Mikel Sera-Rikart, were listed among the passengers and expected to study the solar corona and nearby objects such as Venus and Mercury during totality.

For travelers already scheduled on regular flights that day, there was still a chance to see the eclipse if their aircraft happened to be in the right place with clear skies and the sun visible from their window.

The total eclipse on 12 August was visible along a path crossing the Arctic, Iceland, Greenland, northern Spain and small areas of Siberia and Portugal; maximum totality was expected to last up to about 2 minutes and 18 seconds, though many populated areas would experience under two minutes. A partial eclipse could be seen from parts of Canada, Alaska and northern United States. The previous total eclipse visible in the United States occurred in April 2024; the next total eclipse that will touch U.S. territory is not expected until March 2033 (only in Alaska), with the next continental U.S. totality arriving in August 2044.

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