ADVERTISEMENTA radical power failure brought Spain and Portugal to a stop on Monday, interrupting trains and causing major disturbances in airports.
At midnight, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the state of emergency, which is still in place today.
The electricity was restored in more areas during the night with Red Eléctricrica, a partially belonging to the State which operates the Spanish national network, indicating that 99.16% of the power had been returned to the country this morning. According to the government, Portugal has now completely recovered from the power failure.
Although electricity has now been restored in many places, the persistent effects of the breakdown always have a certain impact on trips to Spain and Portugal. Here is what travelers should know about train services and flight operations in Spain and Portugal today.
Are flights still delayed in Spanish and Portuguese airports?
The power failure sparked chaos in Spanish airports and Portugal on Monday. There were no complete closures like airports operated on backup generators.
Although electricity has been restored, the training effects of canceled and delayed flights mean that the disturbance is underway this morning.
In an article on X, Aena, the company that runs 56 airports in Spain, said all airports remain operational this morning.
“We recommend that passengers check the status of public transport services arriving at airports and consulting their airline about their flight status concerning a possible reprogramming of yesterday,” added the group.
“Tonight, airports have adjusted their schedules to the needs of the passengers postponed, and there was no important crowd in the terminals.”
Enaire, head of Spanish air navigation, said that air traffic control returned to normal this morning in the three control centers affected by the power failure: Madrid, Barcelona and Seville.
Despite this, many Madrid, Barcelona and Seville flights are canceled or delayed this morning while the services are coming back to normal. Enaire advises passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before going to the airport.
In Portugal, the government has announced that all airports were working now, although certain recovery efforts are still underway in Lisbon.
A number of arrivals and departures from Lisbon airport were canceled this morning and most of them work with delays. The airport operator advises passengers to contact their airline before going to the airport.
What are my rights if my flight has been canceled or delayed?
In total, there were 413 cancellations to and from Spain and 372 in and from Portugal yesterday, according to aviation analysts Cirium. But many of them were thefts between the two countries, which means that they were double accounting in this total.
It is believed that around 500 flights across the two countries were put up on Monday due to the breakdown.
ADVERTISEMENTLisbon was the least affected by 45% of the anchored departures. Seville saw a third of the departures canceled, while Madrid and Barcelona each had around 50 runners.
If you have been affected by the disruption, you may be entitled to compensation as part of the “refused boarding regulations”, according to Ernesto Suarez, CEO of Travel Insurance Company Gigasury.
Depending on your situation, you can receive money for travel agreements, food and alternative accommodation if necessary.
“As the disturbance was caused by circumstances outside the airline control, passengers cannot obtain any compensation directly from the operator,” said Suarez.
ADVERTISEMENT“Those who have travel insurance can have some financial protection if all or part of their trip is delayed, canceled or interrupted due to the power failure. If the customer bought prolonged travel disturbance coverage, they can be covered for a travel delay, abandon or reduce their trip and / or additional costs if they have to move or extend their stay.”
If the passengers have already traveled and cannot come back because of the current failures, many travel insurance The policies will continue to provide coverage until you can come back at no additional cost, adds Suarez.
If you have prolonged travel disruption coverage, you may also be entitled to compensation which covers additional travel and accommodation costs until you can return, subject to the conditions, conditions and exclusions of your police.
Easyjet offers free blocked passengers
EasyJet yesterday published a declaration saying that the power failure has an impact on access to some airports And affecting its flight operations in Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona.
ADVERTISEMENT“Like all airlines, we know a disruption of our flight program, which means that some return flights from Lisbon and Madrid could not work,” said the airline. “Our flight program at Porto and Faro airports works as expected.”
The airline urged passengers to monitor local travel councils and flight trackers for updates.
They also say that passengers in Spain or Portugal who are unable to travel are provided with free transfers within 72 hours or a flightAccording to the BBC.
Train networks in Spain and Portugal are slowly returning to normal
Train services in the two countries were thrown into chaos yesterday, the power failure still having an impact on rail services today.
ADVERTISEMENTEmergency services in Spain said they had saved around 35,000 passengers blocked on railways and metro systems on Monday when trains were stopped. Many commuters have used hitchhiking at home or walk for hours.
The Spanish rail operator Renfe said that urban train services Madrid will work at 50% of the capacity today.
The high -speed and long -distance services between Madrid and Barcelona, Valence, Murcia, Alicante, the Basque Country and the Algeciras have all resumed a normal operation.
That said, there are reports on chaos and long queues in stations as passengers whose trains have been canceled, try to board alternative services or read tickets.
ADVERTISEMENTMadrid’s trains in Huelva, Cadiz, Salamanca, Badajoz and Galicia remain canceled until further notice.
Crowds piled up on platforms while Madrid and Lisbon Metros cover operations
Metro Services in Madrid also resumed a partial service at 8:00 am this morning, with around 80% of the trains that should take place during peak hours.
“Metro de Madrid is starting to take place at 8:00 am throughout the network, with the exception of line 7a”, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the community of Madridwrote on X.
“Eighty percent of trains will work for a normal morning rush hour.
ADVERTISEMENT“All the lines of Emtmadrid and Interurbanos are 100% operational and will be free throughout the day.
“The six transport exchanges in the region remain open as usual.”
The Barcelona metro also reopened with “taking up normal” services, according to local authorities.
After many spent a difficult night stuck in the trains or slept in the stations, there will probably be long queues and a lot of confusion when people try to go home.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Portugal rail network has also been struck by the power failure, but travelers have already been prepared for disruption due to a national strike, which experienced train services suspended on Monday anyway. The government said the power was now returned to the National Transport Network.
Lisbon and Porto metro systems are underway, with some minor delays.
Although there have been breakdowns in certain parts of FranceAlso, trains do not seem to have been affected.
“In France, the houses were without electricity for several minutes in the Basque country. Any power has since been restored,” said RTE, the operator of French electricity.
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