A widespread blackout has forced Spanish and Portuguese airports to operate on backup generators, causing significant flight delays and reductions in air traffic capacity at major hubs including Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon.
A massive power outage struck Spain and Portugal Monday, severely disrupting airport operations and causing flight delays throughout the Iberian Peninsula as facilities struggled to maintain normal operations with limited electricity.
Airport authorities activated emergency generators at major hubs, but the outage forced significant reductions in capacity. Madrid’s Barajas Airport cut incoming flights to just one-third of normal operations, while Barcelona operated at half capacity and Lisbon temporarily halted all arrivals before resuming at a reduced rate.
“Due to the power outage, some incidents are occurring at Spanish airports,” Aena, which manages Spain’s largest airports, said on social media. “Contingency generators are active. Check with your airline, as there may be issues with access and ground transportation.”
The power failure began around midday local time, resulting in an extraordinary drop in power consumption across the region. Bloomberg reporter Javier Blas noted on social platform X that demand plummeted “from ~26GW to ~12GW in a few seconds.”
By Monday afternoon, Cirium, an aviation analytics company, reported that 96 flights departing Portuguese airports had been canceled, with Lisbon losing nearly 30% of its scheduled departures. Spanish airports fared somewhat better, with 45 canceled departures â representing about 3% of flights at Barcelona and 2.6% at Madrid.
FlightAware data showed dozens of delays at major Spanish airports. In Madrid, 50 departing flights and 30 arrivals were delayed, though cancellations remained limited in the immediate aftermath.
Passengers faced compounding difficulties as the blackout also affected ground transportation to airports. One traveler reported to Sky News that their Madrid Metro train to the airport terminated early, forcing passengers to carry luggage up stairs without functioning elevators and find alternative transportation.
“Power is on again now, but still no gate screens are on,” another passenger at Barcelona-El Prat Airport told Sky News, highlighting the ongoing operational challenges despite the activation of backup power systems.
The outage extended far beyond aviation, affecting traffic lights, railway operations, and even forcing the suspension of tennis tournaments, according to reports from multiple news outlets. Red Electrica, Spain’s electrical grid operator, confirmed widespread power outages across the country.
Airport authorities implemented various measures to manage the disruption. Madrid Barajas Airport reduced arrivals to just 20 flights per hour, compared to its normal capacity of 60. Lisbon Airport initially implemented a “zero rate” for arrivals before allowing planes to land at a reduced frequency starting at 16:30 local time.
The cause of the massive power outage had not been determined as efforts to restore full electrical service continued.
Key Takeaways
- Major Spanish and Portuguese airports remained operational but with significantly reduced capacity due to a widespread power outage.
- Madrid reduced inbound flights by two-thirds, Barcelona by half, and Lisbon temporarily halted all arrivals.
- Portugal saw nearly 100 flight cancellations while Spain reported 45 canceled departures by Monday afternoon.
- The disruption affected both air traffic and ground transportation to airports, complicating travel throughout the region.
