Blackouts Across Spain and Portugal Hit Travel
Photo Credit: Praça do Comércio, Lisbon, Portugal Unsplash / Claudio Schwarz
Skift Take
Air travel and public transport were severely impacted on Monday, including in the key tourist cities of Madrid and Lisbon.
Spain and Portugal have been hit by a major power outage that has delayed flights, caused traffic jams, and shut down public transport including metros and trains.
The outage is impacting the entire Iberian peninsula. Transport, internet services, and cell phone coverage have all been affected.
Spain has declared state of emergency. Its interior ministry said it's deploying 30,000 police officers to maintain security while the blackout continues.
A "rare atmospheric phenomenon”, is one of the possible causes of the outage, according to REN, Portugal’s grid operator. Investigations are ongoing.
Initial reports suggested it could take up to a week for the Portuguese network to fully normalize. However, as of 10 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET) on Monday, REN confirmed that more than 750,000 consumers were reconnected, including in Porto, the country's second-largest city.
How Is Travel Impacted?
Transport networks have been halted in multiple cities.
In Portugal, the metro system closed in Lisbon and Porto, with many regional trains not running. Traffic lights were also off leading to heavy congestion. Drivers in Spain were urged not to use their cars unless necessary, with Madrid's mayor, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, calling on residents to stay where they are.
Local Portuguese media reported that people were stranded at a metro station near Lisbon's Humberto Delgado airport, which was also without power. Madrid's Barajas International Airport also closed.
AENA, which manages 46 airports in Spain, reported flight delays around the country. In a statement on X, it said airports of its network were "operational with backup electrical systems," however, the impact on flights depended on "the difficulties passengers and crews face when arriving to the airports" and some flights were being delayed, the statement said.
Iberia said the impact was limited. "Despite the difficulties, Iberia's operations have not been paralyzed," the airline said in a statement. "Of the 247 scheduled flights, only 23 had to be cancelled, none of them long-haul flights." However, Iberia acknowledged that passengers would have trouble getting to the airport, and that it was offering the option to reschedule.
Meanwhile, matches were suspended at the Madrid Open tennis tournament, as the venue lost power and thousands of fans were left in the dark. In a post on X, organizers said they were working to “restore normality as soon as possible.”
Across both countries, large numbers of people were trapped in elevators and shops went dark without electricity.
The Impact on Travelers
Carlos Vasquez was on a layover in Madrid when he heard the bad news: Because of the blackout, the flight to his destination was cancelled.
He and his girlfriend, both from Costa Rica, were traveling Monday from Egypt to Seville, Spain. A train ride from Madrid to Seville is only about three hours, but those were also cancelled.
Without cell service, it meant they wouldn’t have an easy time booking a place to stay for the night.
“So we now need to find where to sleep, where to eat,” he said in the middle of a long walk from the eastern side of Madrid to the center. “Nothing is working. We don't have a lot of information about it because we just arrived.”
They were walking with another traveling couple they had met in hopes that they could all find a place to stay.
A traveler named Hua landed in Madrid from Berlin during the blackout. He said he waited two hours for his bag, then three hours for a taxi. Hua was taking a detour during his business trip to watch the Madrid Open. A Chinese native, he lives and works in Nigeria.
What’s normally an easy metro trip from the airport was no longer an option. Traffic was at a standstill on the northern side of Retiro Park as a line of busses were deployed to replace the closed metro.
Countless travelers wheeled suitcases for blocks down crowded sidewalks. Some sat on doorway steps. One woman stopped on the corner with her travel partner to burst into tears.
What Happens Next?
Portugal’s utility operator REN are working in coordination with energy producers for a “phased restoration” of energy supply, after the “massive cut in electricity supply across the Iberian Peninsula”.
Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica said it was working with regional energy companies to restore power.
Cell service and power started coming back to Madrid's city center around 8:30 p.m. CET (2:30 p.m. ET). Just before 10 p.m. CET, power returned further outside of the center.
By Monday night, nearly 50% of power had been restored across mainland Spain, according to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Many of the large hotels in Lisbon city center had power restored around 9:30 p.m. WET (4:30 p.m. ET)
The European Commission issued a statement saying it was in contact with the national authorities of Spain and Portugal to understand the cause of the blackout.
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