Spain's largest airline announced early on Friday morning that it was resuming all national and international flights, after its pilots reversed a walkout decision and said they would be available for work.

Iberia announced unexpectedly on Thursday that it was suspending flights as of midnight, as it could no longer guarantee the safety and well-being of its passengers after 99 of the pilots responsible for flight operations resigned. The airline lifted the suspension after receiving some 113 letters from pilots reversing their decision to resign and apologising to customers for the inconvenience caused. "Some withdrew their resignations, other said they would stay until Iberia can replace them," an Iberia spokeswoman said.

The suspension of flights was an unexpected escalation in the industrial dispute between Iberia and the pilots' union, Sepla, and was expected to bring chaos for tourists in one of the world's top three tourist destinations, especially in July and August. On Tuesday, the striking pilots forced Iberia to cancel 230 international flights, costing the airline between 6m and 8.4m euros.