Travel disruption in Spain and Portugal continues as power returns

A widespread power outage on Monday paralyzed Spain and Portugal, leading to the disruption of train services and causing chaos at airports. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared a state of emergency at midnight, which remains in effect today. Red Eléctrica, which manages Spain’s national grid, reported that 99.16% of power had been restored in the country this morning. The Portuguese government also confirmed that the country has fully recovered from the blackout.

While power has been mostly restored, the repercussions of the outage are still affecting travel in both Spain and Portugal. Airport operations have been disrupted, with many flights canceled or delayed in Madrid, Barcelona, and Seville. Airports in both countries are operational, but passengers are advised to check with airlines for flight updates.

Train services in Spain and Portugal were also disrupted by the power outage. In Spain, Renfe announced that urban train services in Madrid are running at 50% capacity today. High-speed and long-distance train services between major cities have resumed, but some routes remain canceled until further notice.

In Lisbon, Madrid, and Barcelona, metro services have partially resumed, with slight delays expected. Passengers faced long queues and confusion as they tried to navigate the disrupted transportation systems. Despite the challenges, efforts are underway to restore normalcy in the affected regions.

In France, power outages were reported in some areas, but train services were not significantly impacted. RTE, the French electricity operator, confirmed that power has been fully restored in the Basque Country after a brief interruption.