Massive blackout disrupts flights, subway trains in Spain and Portugal

A massive blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill on Monday, halting subway trains, cutting phone service and shutting down traffic lights and ATM machines for the 50 million people who live across the Iberian Peninsula.

The power cut also disrupted air traffic, affecting flights to and from Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon, European air traffic organisation Eurocontrol said.

The organisation said it was still too early to say how many flights would be affected.

Utility operators sought to restore the grid but Spanish electricity transmission operator Red Eléctrica said the outage, the cause of which was not immediately known, could last from six to 10 hours.

Officials said the possibility that it was caused by a cyber attack had not been ruled out.

The outage caused chaos in parts of Portugal and Spain as traffic lights stopped working, causing gridlock.

A view of empty hospital emergency beds at a hospital during a power outage which hit large parts of Spain, in Barcelona. Reuters

Transport networks were halted, hospitals were left without power and people were trapped in the metro and in elevators.

In Madrid, hundreds of people stood in the streets outside office buildings and there was a heavy police presence around some important buildings, with officers directing traffic as well as driving along central atriums with lights.

People leave the Atocha train station in Madrid after its closure as a massive power outage hits Spain. AFP

The Spanish and Portuguese governments met to discuss the outage, which also briefly affected parts of France, and a crisis committee was set up in Spain, sources familiar with the situation said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited electricity transmission operator Red Eléctrica's control centre.

"The government is working to determine the origin and impact of this incident and is dedicating all resources to resolve it as soon as possible," the Spanish government said.

Passengers stand next to a stopped RENFE high-speed AVE train near Cordoba during a massive power cut. AFP

Red Electrica said it was working with regional energy companies to restore power. Portuguese utility REN said it had activated plans for the phased restoration of the electricity supply.

POWER CUT INTERRUPTS PLAY AT MADRID OPEN

Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended, forcing 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov and British opponent Jacob Fearnley off the court as scoreboards went dark and overhead cameras lost power.

The European Commission said it was in contact with the authorities in Spain and Portugal and the European network of transmission system operators ENTSO-E to try to establish the cause of the outage.

GRIDLOCK

Power outages on this scale are rare in Europe. In 2003 a problem with a hydroelectric power line between Italy and Switzerland caused a major outage across the whole Italian peninsula for around 12 hours.

In Madrid, the air was filled with the sound of police sirens and helicopters clattered overhead. The towering Torre Emperador skyscraper in the Spanish capital was evacuated via stairs.

Worried people tried desperately to reach their children's schools as the cell signal came and went.

Customers buy gas bottles in a petrol station during a massive power cut affecting the entire Iberian peninsula. AFP

In a video posted on X, Madridi Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida urged the capital's residents to minimise all travel and stay at their current locations if possible.

Airports reported delays. AENA, which manages 46 airports in Spain, reported flight delays around the country.

Portugal's airport operator ANA said airports activated emergency generators which for now allows essential airport operations to be maintained at Porto and Faro airports.

"In Lisbon, operations are ongoing but with limitations. So far, there have been no impacts on Madeira and Azores airports," it said.

Agencies