A large-scale power outage across Spain and Portugal has paralysed daily life in many cities, particularly Madrid and Lisbon. The outage caused major disruptions at airports and train stations.
Flight Cancellations at Airports
According to the BBC, Spain’s electricity grid operator Red Eléctrica confirmed widespread outages across the country, while the national railway company Renfe announced that all train services had been halted due to the power cut.
According to aviation data company Cirium:
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As of 16:49, a total of 96 flights had been cancelled at airports across Portugal.
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The most affected airport was Lisbon Airport, where approximately 30% of departures were cancelled.
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In Spain, 45 flights were cancelled by the same time.
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The largest disruptions occurred at Barcelona Airport, where 3% of flights were cancelled, and Madrid Airport, with a cancellation rate of 2.5%.
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No cancellations have yet been reported on flights from the UK to Spain.
TAP Air Portugal instructed passengers not to travel to airports until further notice, while Spain’s airport operator Aena advised passengers to contact their airlines.
Severe Disruptions to Transport
Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida urged residents to stay where they were after traffic lights stopped working.
The office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that all resources were being mobilised to investigate the cause of the outage and to work towards a solution.
Red Eléctrica CEO Eduardo Prieto stated that restoring power could take between 6 and 10 hours.
Following the outages in Spain and Portugal, it was reported that brief power cuts also occurred in France.
Support for Passengers from Airlines
EasyJet announced that most of its flights to Spain and Portugal were continuing as scheduled but offered affected passengers the following options:
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Free rebooking on an alternative flight within 72 hours,
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A voucher equivalent to the value of their flight reservation.
EasyJet also confirmed it was providing assistance to passengers who missed their flights or were unable to reach the airport due to the power outage.
Travel Advice Updated
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office updated its travel advice for mainland Spain, mainland Portugal, and Andorra, urging travellers to contact their tour operators or airlines before setting off.
Meanwhile, it was reported that the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands were not affected by the outage.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of Advantage Travel Partnership, warned that both business and leisure travellers could be seriously impacted and advised passengers to stay in touch with their booking agents.
