Widespread Power Cut Hits Spain: Airports Operate on Backup Systems, Mallorca Unaffected
Monday, April 28th, 2025
Update Tuesday, 29/4/25:
As of early Tuesday morning, 29 April 2025, power has been restored to most affected areas, and investigations into the cause of the outage are ongoing. Red Eléctrica de España (REE), Spain’s national grid operator, announced at 5 am local time, that 92% of the electricity demand had been recovered.
While the power outage did not affect the electricity supply at Palma Airport, the blackout on the mainland had ripple effects on air travel. Therefore, PMI experienced several flight cancellations and many delays, often involving flights to and from mainland Spain.
Many airlines are offering flexible rebooking options. If you are affected, please enquire with your airline.
The airport operator Aena provided the following update at 7 am local time:
“UPDATE 07:00 – #powercut:
All airports remain operational. We recommend that passengers check the status of public transport services to the airports and confirm their flight status with their airline due to possible rescheduling from yesterday. Overnight, airports have adjusted their schedules to accommodate rebooked passengers, and no significant crowding has been reported in the terminals.”
Monday, 28/4/2025
A major power outage has affected large parts of Spain and Portugal on Monday, 28 April 2025, beginning around 12:30 pm local time. Cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Lisbon, and Porto have experienced significant disruptions to transport networks, including metro systems, railways, airports, and traffic lights.
Spain’s electricity consumption dropped by 50% at the time of the outage, highlighting its widespread impact. The cause is under investigation, with authorities examining potential issues in the European electricity system.
Airports across Spain, including Madrid-Barajas, activated emergency generators to maintain operations. Aena, the Spanish airport operator, confirmed that airports are operational with contingency electrical systems. However, the impact on flights depends on the difficulties passengers and crew face in reaching the airports. Some delays are occurring, and travellers are advised to check with their airline for the status of their flight.
Flight tracking services noted that while air traffic was affected, widespread cancellations had not been reported at this time. Efforts to restore power are underway, with grid operators working to reestablish the electricity supply in affected areas.
The Balearic Islands, including Mallorca, were not affected by the power outage. According to the regional government, the electrical grid in the Balearic Islands has remained stable, and there are no reported disruptions. Palma de Mallorca Airport continues to operate normally, albeit with some delays.
The airport operator Aena has released the following statement on X:
“Airports are operational with contingency electrical systems.
The impact on flights will depend on the difficulties passengers and crew face in reaching the airport.
Some delays are occurring.
Please check with your airline for the status of your flight.”
Enaire, responsible for managing air traffic control in Spain posted on X:
“The air traffic management operations from the five control centres of @ENAIRE are being maintained with support from the backup generators designed for this type of incident.
The appropriate regulations have been activated to ensure the full safety of operations.”
Featured image courtesy of Pok Rie – Pexels
