CFM International announced, on April 20, 2026, that it has signed an agreement with International Airlines Group (IAG) through which the European airline group will join the service network for the LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines.
In particular, IAG will concentrate on its LEAP engine servicing activity at the engine shop of its Iberia arm in La Muñoza, a large, sprawling MRO center adjacent to Madrid-Barajas International Airport (MAD).
The Madrid facility is expected to begin servicing the first LEAP engines in the first quarter of 2027.
In the press release announcing the agreement, the Spanish airline’s CEO, Marco Sansavini, said: “Becoming a CFM LEAP Premier MRO provider places IAG and Iberia in a strategic position to develop a business with strong growth and profitability potential. This agreement strengthens our international presence, consolidating our position among the leading global providers of engine maintenance for single-aisle aircraft.”
Iberia already has a long history in the maintenance of engines made by CFM, a consortium between US firm GE Aerospace and France’s Safran. Iberia has been servicing CFM56 engines since 1992. The CFM56 was CFM’s flagship product until the introduction of the new generation LEAP family in 2016.
The LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines power the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX families, respectively. The former is already in service with several of the group’s airlines, while the latter be in service from late 2026, when IAG takes delivery of the first of 50 Boeing 737 MAX ordered in 2022.
