Transport systems are unravelling in Spain and Portugal following massive power cuts across the Iberian peninsula. The electricity supply in both countries appears to have shut down at around 12.30pm local time – hitting everything from traffic lights to trains, including underground railways. While the exact cause of the shutdown is still not clear, the impact on travellers is all too evident.
Spain is by far the biggest draw of any overseas country for British holidaymakers, and Portugal is also very popular. At least half a million UK tourists are in those countries.
These are the key issues for travellers.
Airports
There has been a huge impact. The aviation analytics firm Cirium says over 500 flights were due to operate from UK airports to Spain and Portugal today, representing nearly 100,000 seats. While there was no complete closure like Heathrow last month when a power cut happened, the effect has been severe.
At Lisbon, TAP Portugal has cancelled dozens of flights in and out of the Portuguese capital. British Airways has grounded at least one round trip from London Heathrow.
Madrid is also badly affected, with many cancellations particularly of flights with Spain and to/from Portugal. If power is not fully restored quickly, later on tonight there could be problems with the normal overnight departures from both Madrid and Lisbon to Latin America, on which thousands of passengers are booked.
At Barcelona, delays of one to two hours are the order of the day for international flights, such as Ryanair to London Stansted, while many domestic flights are grounded.
EasyJet has cancelled four flights to and from Bristol, plus a round-trip from Luton.
The key holiday airports of Alicante and Malaga in Spain, and Faro in Portugal, do not appear to be badly affected. The Balearic Islands and Canary Islands are seeing only cancellations of domestic flights, as is Madeira and the Azores.
Rail and Metro
The Spanish national rail company, Renfe, announced that at 12.30pm power to its network had been cut, halting trains and throwing stations into chaos – with, understandably, no departures.
To give you an idea of the scale of this, Spain has by far the most extensive high-speed rail network in Europe, with dozens of trains each hour on the busiest route from Madrid to Barcelona – which, I understand, came to a halt at various locations on the fast lines. Travellers to and from Alicante, Valencia, Seville and Malaga are also affected.
In both Madrid and Barcelona, and as far as I can see Lisbon and Porto, the Metro networks were halted – with passengers trapped on trains and in stations underground.
Anyone who decided to take a taxi instead will have found gridlock as traffic lights failed.
Disrupted passengers
With up to 100,000 passengers due to travel from Spain and Portugal to the UK today, some are asking: “I am booked to travel home from Spain or Portugal, but I cannot reach the airport. What are my rights?”
If your flight goes ahead (even with a delay) then the airline is entitled to say, “tough luck, claim on your travel insurance”. In practice they may well offer the chance to book on a later flight – but planes are flying very full, so it may take some time to find a suitable departure.
The Independent has asked British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair and Tui for details of the impact on their operations and the policy for passengers who inadvertently miss flights home.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “Power outages in Portugal and Spain are impacting access to some airports and affecting some airports operations including Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona.
“As a result, like all airlines, we are experiencing some disruption to our flying programme meaning that some return flights from Lisbon and Madrid have been unable to operate. Our flying programme at Porto and Faro airports is operating as planned.
“As the situation remains fluid, we are advising customers to check local travel advice and our flight tracker for information on their flights. For passengers who are in Spain or Portugal and unable to travel to the airport today, we are providing free of charge transfers to an alternative easyJet flight within 72 hours or a flight voucher.”
“Although this is outside of our control, we are sorry for any inconvenience and continue to monitor the situation closely.”
The other response so far has been from Ryanair: “Due to a general power outage affecting mainland Spain and Portugal today Mon 28 April, we are monitoring potential disruption to flights operating to/from all airports in mainland Spain and Portugal. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of this power outage, which is outside of our control.”
Cancelled or heavily delayed flights
Dozens of flights linking the UK with Spain and Portugal are being cancelled or heavily delayed as a result of the power chaos.
Whatever the cause of a long delay or cancellation, the airline is obliged to provide meals, and if necessary, accommodation until you can reach your destination.
When a flight is cancelled, the airline must offer an alternative departure as soon as possible – including on a rival carrier if it is the only way of getting you to your destination on the same day.
Cash compensation is not due, as the cause is beyond the airlines’ control.
