Blackout shuts airports in Spain and Portugal, causing widespread travel disruptions, stranding passengers, and halting metro systems across the Iberian Peninsula. The unexpected power outage, which struck on Monday late morning local time, left millions without electricity and severely impacted transportation, communication, and emergency services.
Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport and Madrid’s Barajas International Airport were forced to close due to the blackout, leaving hundreds of travelers stuck. Flights from Brussels and other European cities to Spain and Portugal were cancelled, creating a ripple effect of travel delays throughout the region. Metro systems in both Madrid and Lisbon ground to a halt, trapping passengers in tunnels between stations and adding to the chaos.
Hospitals and Telecommunications Severely Affected
Hospitals across Spain and Portugal reported serious impacts as a result of the outage. Madrid’s La Paz Hospital, among others, experienced disruptions, with some surgeries having to be cancelled. In Setúbal, Portugal, a hospital source revealed that while backup generators kept critical departments running for a limited time, the facility had no water supply and lost internet connectivity. Staff were operating without clear guidance on when full services would be restored.
Telecommunications were also hit hard. Many residents reported losing access to mobile networks entirely, further complicating emergency response efforts. Authorities urged citizens to avoid dialing 112 unless facing a genuine emergency, aiming to prevent the system from becoming overwhelmed during the blackout.
Emergency Measures and Government Response
The Spanish government convened an emergency session at Moncloa to monitor and coordinate the response. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the control center of Red Eléctrica, Spain’s grid operator, as officials worked to understand the cause and restore services. Meanwhile, the European Commission confirmed it was in contact with Spain, Portugal, and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) to assist with recovery efforts.
European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen expressed solidarity, stating, “Power is already back in some regions. Network operators and ENTSO-E are doing everything possible on the ground. Solidarity and unity are key for our Energy Union.”
In Valencia, Mayor María José Catalá announced the cancellation of all public activities, including celebrations for San Vicente Ferrer and planned demonstrations demanding political resignations related to past crises. The City Council deployed extra personnel from the Local Police and Fire Department to assist with traffic control and emergency calls, as many traffic lights across the city were out of service.
Gradual Restoration and Possible Causes
By Monday afternoon, Red Eléctrica had begun gradually restoring power in parts of Spain, including the Basque Country. However, the company warned that full restoration across the country could take between six and ten hours due to technical challenges. Electricity consumption in Spain dropped by 50% at the height of the outage, highlighting the scale of the disruption.
The precise cause of the blackout remains unclear. Early reports suggest a fault in the European electric grid, possibly linked to a fire on the Alaric mountain in southwest France, which damaged a high-voltage power line between Perpignan and eastern Narbonne. Portugal’s national electric company REN pointed to this fire as a potential factor but ruled out a rare atmospheric phenomenon that some rumors suggested.
Cybersecurity concerns were also raised, though no concrete evidence has been found linking the blackout to a cyberattack. Portugal’s National Cybersecurity Centre (CNCS) emphasized that while a cyberattack cannot be ruled out completely, no signs currently support this theory.
Taco Engelaar of Neara, a specialist in energy infrastructure, explained, “Such a widespread grid failure is extremely unusual and could be caused by a number of things: a physical fault in the grid, a coordinated cyberattack, or a dramatic imbalance between demand and supply.” He noted that the interconnected nature of Europe’s power grids means that faults can quickly spread across multiple countries.
Lingering Disruptions and Looking Ahead
While power has returned to parts of France and some areas in Spain and Portugal, thousands of people remained without electricity into the evening hours. Public transportation systems continued to experience delays, and many businesses faced the loss of perishable goods. Butchers, grocers, and ice cream vendors reported potential significant financial losses as refrigeration systems failed.
Emergency services, governments, and energy companies remain on high alert as investigations continue into the causes behind the unprecedented blackout. As recovery efforts press on, the blackout serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities within interconnected power networks and the cascading effects that can occur when those systems fail.
