A little history of LEAS On June 18, 1968, the first commercial flight to Madrid took off from Asturias Airport with 29 passengers. The plane, a Foker F-27, flew at a speed of 428 kilometers per hour, supported a maximum takeoff weight of 18,000 kilos and could carry 44 passengers. Thirty-five years later, on October 9, 2003, an Airbus A340/300 took off from the same airport bound for New York with 241 passengers, flying at a speed of 890 kilometers per hour, with a maximum takeoff weight of 260,000 kilograms. and be able to transport up to 260 passengers. The contrast between these two operations can indicate the evolution of air transport in our region.