Spanish airline Vueling will accept cryptocurrency payments, making it?the first low-cost carrier to accept cryptocurrency in Europe. Vueling, a low-cost Spanish airline, has revealed that it is investigating the capabilities of blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT) technology in order to accept cryptocurrencies as payment for its services.

The company has teamed up with Criptan, a registered Spanish cryptocurrency exchange that has previously registered with the Bank of Spain, and plans to make this payment option available to users by the third quarter of 2023.  Criptan will provide assistance with payment organization, processing, and finishing customer orders using cryptocurrency. With this partnership, the airline, which is part of the IAG group, will be able to add NFT technology and become the first low-cost carrier in Europe to accept cryptocurrency.

This is Vueling’s first step towards accepting cryptocurrency as payment for its services. Recently, the company said it was investigating the use of blockchain and NFT technologies to allow users to purchase plane tickets with cryptocurrency.

Vueling says that this move will make them the first low-cost airline in Europe to accept cryptocurrency as payment. This collaboration puts the company at the cutting edge of new technologies and innovation, reaffirming its commitment to providing its website's best and most modern tools and solutions.

The feature is scheduled to be available on the airline's website, and it will use UATP technology, the worldwide payments network for airlines. The business has yet to specify which cryptocurrencies would be accepted. At the moment, the two companies are looking into how blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can be used in strategic ways to offer customers new solutions and improve the user experience.

Other airlines have previously used cryptocurrency in their retail operations :

In September 2022, Flybondi, an Argentine airline, said that it would sell plane tickets as NFTs, which would let people trade them on secondary markets. As part of this partnership, the company would accept payments in stablecoins like USDC, which would be processed by Binance Pay. The Venezuelan government said that starting in October 2021, it will accept multiple cryptocurrencies as payment for plane tickets, including the national token, the petro.