Travel chaos as flights and trains cancelled in Spain and Portugal over power outage – your holiday rights
A POWER outage across Spain and Portugal has resulted in flight cancellations at a number of airports, as well as huge delays and train station closures.
Red Eléctrica, Spain's national grid operator, confirmed that the system failure was across the entire peninsula.
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This includes blackouts across Madrid, Seville, Malaga and Barcelona, as well as Lisbon and the Algarve and some southern areas of France.
Spanish airport operator Aena confirmed that Madrid's Barajas Airport has been hit the hardest, with flight cancellations and delays.
The website currently states: "Due to the power outage, some incidents are occurring at the airports. Contingency generators are active.
"Please check with your airline, as there may be disruptions to access and ground transportation."
Air traffic is reportedly operating at "half capacity" across Spain due to the widespread power outage.
Some flights have been delayed at least four hours, including the 11:05am to Melilla, now departing after 2pm, and the 11:25pm to Washington, now departing at 4:15pm.
Some passengers have been trapped inside planes that have been unable to fully land, with jetways blocked, according to Madrid Total.
And the main airport in Barcelona, while still operational, has seen delays in baggage claim, with huge waits for passengers and some even leaving their suitcases behind.
Across Portugal, Lisbon Airport is also reporting operational outages at the check in desks.
Even in France, Perpignan-Rivesaltes Airport has temporarily suspended some operations.
It has also affected a huge number of train lines, with some going down entirely.
The Valencia metro has suspended its entire service service.
And one person said on social media: "The entire Metro network (including the electricity) and traffic lights in central Madrid just went down.
"They made us leave... and the mobile network performance is also very poor."
A spokesperson for the metro line said on social media: "At this time, the service on the Madrid commuter network is out of service due to a power outage."
In Portugal, dozens of people have been left trapped in the tunnels of the Lisbon Metro by the blackout.
The Sun's Head of Travel Lisa Minot said in regards to train delays or cancellations: "Under EU rail regulations, if the delay or cancellation means you will arrive in your final destination more than an hour delayed you have the right to choose between:
- A refund of your ticket within 30 days and a return journey to your initial point of departure if the cancelled train prevents you from fulfilling the purpose of your trip.
- Continue or re-routing your journey to reach your final destination at the earliest opportunity at no extra cost.
- Continue or re-route your journey at a later date of your choosing at no additional cost. This includes includes alternative transport to get you to your final destination if the service is suspended.
- Food and drink depending on the length of the delay."
The Sun's Head of Travel Lisa Minot weighs in.
THE massive power outage across Spain and Portugal has thrown transport networks into chaos.
With Madrid’s international airport closed, flights are being delayed and could potentially be cancelled if the power cut goes on for a significant period.
While there is no compensation due to consumers for delays or cancellations as the chaos is outside of any airline’s control, they do have a duty of care.
If your flight is delayed by more than two hours, your airline should be providing you with food and drink - sometimes in the form of vouchers - as well as access to phone calls or emails.
If you are delayed overnight, accommodation and transport to and from the airport should also be provided.
With a sudden incident such as this, it may be necessary to pay for essentials but make sure you keep all receipts and keep any purchases reasonable.
If your flight is cancelled, your airline has to get you to your destination as quickly as possible - and by any means necessary, even if that means on a different airline’s flight.
However, practically in situations where thousands are impacted, it may be that you have to make your own arrangements - again, make sure your expenses are reasonable and will get you to your destination within a reasonable amount of time. Keep ALL receipts.
You are also entitled to a full refund but remember, if you choose this option, you are on your own and the airline is not responsible for getting you home.
If your travel insurance policy includes travel disruption cover then it may be possible to claim for disruption or losses incurred as a result of your trip being delayed or cancelled.
However, it’s worth noting that not all policies cover this as standard, and cover levels, conditions and exclusions can vary between providers, making it important to check with your insurer as your first port of call.
Roads across Spain and Portugal were seen with huge queues after traffic lights and signals stopped working.
Emergency officers have been drafted in to deal with the traffic.
Spanish Directorate-General for Traffic has urged people to avoid driving until resolution of the nationwide power outages.
Brit Caron told The Sun: "We were in the middle of a Spanish cookery class in Seville when the whole market was suddenly plunged into darkness.
"The traffic in Seville is pretty gridlocked as all traffic lights are out.
"We are currently sitting on our hotel terrace listening to lots of angry beeping - we just hope the power comes back before nightfall or things could start to get a bit tricky."
And some hospitals have been forced to cancel surgeries for the rest of the day.
Red Eléctrica said that "the causes are being analysed and all resources are being dedicated to resolving it".
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