- The prize for the best entry in the Te lo cuento en el aire competition carries a prize of €1,000, and the jury may award a runner-up prize of €500 to one of the finalist entries
- Each entrant may submit a single original story of between 2,000 and 2,500 words, and the ENAIRE Foundation will publish a digital anthology on its website featuring the 30 finalist stories, including the winning entry
- This year marks the 100th anniversary of the historic flight of the Plus Ultra, which made the first single-aircraft crossing of the South Atlantic from the Iberian Peninsula
The ENAIRE Foundation, the cultural arm of ENAIRE, runs an annual short story competition, Te lo cuento en el aire, with the aim of promoting aviation culture and reflecting its influence on society.
To mark the centenary of the Great Flights of Spanish Aviation, the ENAIRE Foundation is dedicating this ninth edition to the first milestone flights in Spanish aviation between 1926 and 1935:
• In 1926, the Plus Ultra, a Dornier Wal, made the first single-aircraft crossing of the South Atlantic, flying from Palos de la Frontera to Buenos Aires, Argentina (10,270 km).
• That same year, the Elcano Squadron flew from Madrid to Manila in Breguet XIX aircraft (17,150 km).
• In 1927, the Atlántida Squadron, with three Dornier Wal aircraft, flew from Melilla to Santa Isabel, Guinea (15,047 km).
• In 1929, the Jesús del Gran Poder, a Breguet XIX, completed a long-distance flight from Seville to Havana, setting the world's second-longest distance record and the first endurance record for a landplane flying over open ocean. (27,000 km in total).
• In 1931, Haya and Rodríguez, flying a Breguet XIX, took off from Tablada, Seville, and landed in Guinea in a single leg (4,572 km).
• In 1932–1933, Fernando Rein Loring flew from Madrid to Manila on two occasions, first in a Loring E II and months later in a Comper Swift light aircraft (15,130 km).
• In 1933, the Cuatro Vientos, a long-range Breguet XIX piloted by Joaquín Collar and Mariano Barberán, flew from Seville to Havana (17,150 km).
• In 1935, Juan Ignacio Pombo flew from Santander to Mexico City in a British Klemm Eagle II (15,970 km).
The Centenary of the Great Flights of Spanish Aviation is an initiative of the Spanish Air and Space Force that commemorates the major achievements of Spanish aviation between 1926 and 1935.
Those years marked the achievements of the pioneers who brought modern aviation to Spain, placing the country at the forefront of world aviation and establishing connections with Latin America, the Philippines and Africa.
These great flights consolidated Spain's position as an aviation power, marking the start of a golden decade of records and aerial exploration. Technical advances, combined with the pioneering spirit and courage of Spanish aviators, paved the way for the development of air transport—a decade cut short by the Spanish Civil War.
Stories submitted to this competition must be original works, written in Spanish, between 2,000 and 2,500 words long. Stories outside this word range will be rejected. Stories must be unpublished and must not be copies or adaptations of any previously published work. Each participant may submit only one story; the competition is open to anyone aged 13 or over, of any nationality. Stories may not be entered in any other competition simultaneously.
The prize for the best short story is €1,000. The jury may also award, at its discretion, a runner-up prize of €500 (subject to applicable taxes) to one of the 30 finalist stories.
The ENAIRE Foundation will also publish on its website a digital anthology of the 30 finalist stories, including the winning story and, where applicable, the runner-up.
The submission period for stories will run from 23 April to 30 September 2026.
The Rules are published on the ENAIRE Foundation website: https://fundacionenaire.es/actividad/relato-breve-26.
The jury will begin reading and evaluating entries on 1 October, and the winning story will be announced in December.
About ENAIRE Foundation
Is a cultural institution of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility that, in addition to managing, preserving and exhibiting the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art, engages in a comprehensive annual programme of activities that focus on aeronautical art and culture. Notably, it is one of the institutions that currently provides the most support to photography through its annual prizes - which have become a benchmark for professional photographers - and by hosting exhibits.
It is the only foundation in Spain that combines the two seemingly disparate themes of art and aeronautical culture, bringing them together by undertaking a programme of activities that promote the study, research, knowledge and dissemination of aeronautical culture, integrating history and modernity to raise awareness of the world of aviation in our country.
The Naves de Gamazo are the first permanent home of the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art, an example of collaboration between government agencies that was made possible thanks to the partnership and joint efforts of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, the Government of Cantabria, through the Office for Culture, Tourism and Sport, and the Port Authority of Santander, which share the operating expenses of the centre in order to ensure the present and future viability of this cultural project.
ENAIRE Foundation is implementing digital museum resources to boost the democratisation of art and make it accessible from anywhere in the world. These new museum resources are now available on the Foundation's website.
About ENAIRE
ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.
As a company of the Ministry of Sustainable Transport and Mobility, it provides air traffic control services during the en route and approach phases of all flights to and from Spain and overflights. In addition, it manages communications, navigation and surveillance services from ENAIRE in the airspace and the entire AENA airport network in Spain and provides aerodrome air traffic control services in 21 airports, including the busiest.
ENAIRE is the fourth largest European air navigation service provider, and it is a member of international partnerships A6 Alliance, SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO (Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation) and collaborates closely with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization).
ENAIRE has obtained the highest rating in the key performance indicator for air safety at European scale for six consecutive years, the last five with the maximum possible score of 100%. It has also been awarded the EFQM 600 Seal for its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.