Spain and Portugal hit by major power outages, wiping out traffic lights and halting trains and flights
Portugal's grid operator Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN) said electrical supply was lost across the entire Iberian peninsula, and in parts of France, late on Monday morning. Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica said it was working with energy companies to restore power. 'The causes are being analyzed and all resources are being dedicated to solving it,' it said.
The outage took out screens, lighting and power sockets throughout the region; Portugal's police force told people to avoid unnecessary journeys because traffic lights were at risk of failing. 'Reduce your speed and pay extra attention,' they said. 'Prioritise safe driving: your calmness saves lives.'
In Madrid, traffic piled up on the roads after the lights went out. 'I was driving and suddenly there was no traffic lights … It was a bit of a jungle,' Luis Ibáñez Jiménez told CNN. 'I saw a massive bus coming, and I had to accelerate a lot to go past it.'
And Ellie Kenny, a holidaymaker inside Lisbon's Humberto Delgado airport, said hundreds of people were stood in the dark in queues, with no air conditioning or running water. Shops were only accepting cash, she told CNN.
Spanish train operator Renfe said there was a power outage at a national level, causing trains to stop and departures to be canceled. And E-Redes, which provides electiricty to mainland Portugal, said in a statement it was working to re-establish connection. 'This is a wider European problem,' the company said in a statement, according to Reuters.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN's Vasco Cotovio contributed reporting
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
11 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Air Canada suspends operations as flight attendants go on strike
TORONTO — Air Canada suspended operations as more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike early Saturday after a deadline to reach a deal passed, leaving travelers around the world stranded and scrambling during the peak summer travel season. Canadian Union of Public Employees spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed the strike had started after no deal was reached, and the airline said it halted operations. A bitter contract fight between Canada's largest airline and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants escalated Friday as the union turned down the airline's request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which would eliminate its right to strike and allow a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. A complete shutdown will impact about 130,000 people a day, and some 25,000 Canadians may be stranded abroad daily. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. Keelin Pringnitz, from Ottawa, was returning with her family from a European vacation when they became stranded at London's Heathrow Airport after flights were canceled. She said there was an option for the travelers in line to go the United States, but they were told there wouldn't be any further assistance once they landed in the U.S. 'It didn't go over well with the line. Nobody really seemed interested, everybody seemed a little bit amused almost at the suggestion, or exasperated, because it is a bit ridiculous to offer to take stranded passengers to a different country to strand them there,' she said. Montreal resident Alex Laroche, 21, and his girlfriend had been saving since Christmas for their European vacation. Now their $8,000 trip with nonrefundable lodging is in doubt. They had a Saturday night flight to Nice, France, booked. Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr has said it could take up to a week to fully restart operations once a tentative deal is reached. Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu met with both the airline and union late Friday and urged them to work harder to reach a deal 'once and for all.' 'It is unacceptable that such little progress has been made. Canadians are counting on both parties to put forward their best efforts,' Hajdu said in a statement posted on social media. Ian Lee, associate professor, Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, said he expects the government to intervene within five days if the strike is not settled quickly, noting the government repeatedly does so in transportation strikes. 'They will intervene to bring the strike to an end. Why? Because it has happened 45 times from 1950 until now,' Lee said. 'It is all because of the incredible dependency of Canadians.' Canada is the second-largest country in the world and flying is often the only viable option. 'We're so huge a country and it's so disruptive when there is a strike of any kind in transportation,' Lee said. The government forced the country's two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union last year during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a union's leverage in negotiations. The Business Council of Canada has urged the government to impose binding arbitration in this case, too. Passengers whose travel is impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. But it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full 'due to the summer travel peak.' Laroche said he considered booking new flights with a different carrier, but he said most of them are nearly full and cost more than double the $3,000 they paid for their original tickets. Laroche said he was initially upset over the union's decision to go on strike, but that he had a change of heart after reading about the key issues at the center of the contract negotiations, including the issue of wages. 'Their wage is barely livable,' Laroche said. Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides say they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren't in the air. 'We are heartbroken for our passengers. Nobody wants to see Canadians stranded or anxious about their travel plans but we cannot work for free,' said Natasha Stea, a Air Canada flight attendant and local union president. The attendants are about 70% women. Stea said Air Canada pilots, who are male dominated, received a significant raise last year and questioned whether they are getting fair treatment. The airline's latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions over four years, that it said 'would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.' But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year didn't go far enough because of inflation. 'We're the national carrier and we have people operating in poverty. Like that's disgusting, that's very problematic,' Wesley Lesosky, President of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, said at a news conference.
Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Air Canada suspends operations as flight attendants go on strike
A complete shutdown will impact about 130,000 people a day, and some 25,000 Canadians may be stranded abroad daily. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. Advertisement Keelin Pringnitz, from Ottawa, was returning with her family from a European vacation when they became stranded at London's Heathrow Airport after flights were canceled. She said there was an option for the travelers in line to go the United States, but they were told there wouldn't be any further assistance once they landed in the U.S. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'It didn't go over well with the line. Nobody really seemed interested, everybody seemed a little bit amused almost at the suggestion, or exasperated, because it is a bit ridiculous to offer to take stranded passengers to a different country to strand them there,' she said. Montreal resident Alex Laroche, 21, and his girlfriend had been saving since Christmas for their European vacation. Now their $8,000 trip with nonrefundable lodging is in doubt. They had a Saturday night flight to Nice, France, booked. Advertisement Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr has said it could take up to a week to fully restart operations once a tentative deal is reached. Air Canada flight attendants picketed at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Saturday, Aug. 16. Sammy Kogan/Associated Press 'Such little progress has been made' Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu met with both the airline and union late Friday and urged them to work harder to reach a deal 'once and for all.' 'It is unacceptable that such little progress has been made. Canadians are counting on both parties to put forward their best efforts,' Hajdu said in a statement posted on social media. Ian Lee, associate professor, Carleton University's Sprott School of Business, said he expects the government to intervene within five days if the strike is not settled quickly, noting the government repeatedly does so in transportation strikes. 'They will intervene to bring the strike to an end. Why? Because it has happened 45 times from 1950 until now,' Lee said. 'It is all because of the incredible dependency of Canadians.' Canada is the second-largest country in the world and flying is often the only viable option. 'We're so huge a country and it's so disruptive when there is a strike of any kind in transportation,' Lee said. The government forced the country's two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union last year during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a union's leverage in negotiations. Advertisement The Business Council of Canada has urged the government to impose binding arbitration in this case, too. Travelers in limbo Passengers whose travel is impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. But it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full 'due to the summer travel peak.' Laroche said he considered booking new flights with a different carrier, but he said most of them are nearly full and cost more than double the $3,000 they paid for their original tickets. Laroche said he was initially upset over the union's decision to go on strike, but that he had a change of heart after reading about the key issues at the center of the contract negotiations, including the issue of wages. 'Their wage is barely livable,' Laroche said. Sides are far apart on pay Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides say they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren't in the air. 'We are heartbroken for our passengers. Nobody wants to see Canadians stranded or anxious about their travel plans but we cannot work for free,' said Natasha Stea, a Air Canada flight attendant and local union president. The attendants are about 70% women. Stea said Air Canada pilots, who are male dominated, received a significant raise last year and questioned whether they are getting fair treatment. Advertisement The airline's latest offer included a 38% increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions over four years, that it said 'would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.' But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8% raise in the first year didn't go far enough because of inflation. 'We're the national carrier and we have people operating in poverty. Like that's disgusting, that's very problematic,' Wesley Lesosky, President of the Air Canada Component of CUPE, said at a news conference. ___ Airlines reporter Rio Yamat reported from Las Vegas.
CNN
17 hours ago
- CNN
One of Europe's most magnificent medieval castles has reopened to the public
FacebookTweetLink Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel's weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, and where to stay. In our travel roundup this week: the Japanese city firebombed by the US just hours before the end of World War II, the mysterious origins of the world's only non-rectangular national flag, plus four lifetime friends recreate the photo they took on a UK beach more than 50 years earlier. East Anglia was selected by Lonely Planet as one of its top places to visit in 2025 and now there's another reason to visit this underexplored English region just three hours from London. After a five-year-long, $37 million makeover, Norwich Castle Keep has reopened with all five floors open to the public for the first time. The 12th-century castle was commissioned by William the Conqueror, and more than 900 Norman artifacts have been loaned by the British Museum to create its first medieval gallery outside of the UK capital. Norwich Castle Keep was one of the first castles built after the Norman Conquest of England – that's the battle depicted in France's Bayeux Tapestry (currently undergoing its own refurb) – and was a show of dominance and prestige. Its sturdy 900-year-old walls were built with Caen limestone imported from Normandy, France, in a lasting testament to Norman power. If you're wanting to explore beyond the UK's most popular tourist hotspots, this could be a good place to start. Bodrum Castle, on Bodrum Peninsula in southwest Turkey, is a Matryoshka doll of historical marvels. The 15th-century castle was built by the Knights of Saint John, who fortified it using stones from the nearby 4th-century BCE Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Since the 1960s, it's also been home to one of the world's few Museums of Underwater Archaeology, with more than 3,000 years of seafaring exhibits and historic shipwrecks on display. Dive in deeper with our interactive timeline of Bodrum. And if you're visiting the seaside anytime soon, you might be interested in this roundup of the best water shoes of 2025, from our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN. At one point in the 1970s, Kodak was responsible for 90% of film and 85% of camera sales in the United States, giving the company a huge stake in people's vacation mementoes in the 20th century. Kodak introduced the first digital camera in 1975, but failed to keep up with the technology that it invented, with the 133-year-old company this week announcing that it might have to cease operations. In honor of the heyday of print photography, here are a couple of our favorite stories of vintage photo recreations. Four young women wearing mini-skirts and flip-flops posed at an English seaside resort in 1972. More than 50 years on, the lifelong friends gathered once more to recreate it. Check it out here and admire the attention to detail. Three US couples met on vacation in Mexico in the 1990s and became close friends for 30 years and counting. The male halves of the couples recreated their favorite photo from the 1994 trip at the exact same spot on the beach at Cabo San Lucas. This one's a little treat for our CNN subscribers: Take a look at the wraparound sunglasses and fanny pack. Twelve hours before World War II ended, the US firebombed the Japanese city of Kumagaya. Eighty years on, the scars remain of this air raid, which one survivor describes as 'utterly foolish.' To mark the anniversary, CNN visited the city and met with the people who lived through the bombing. Deep in the forests of Lithuania, an abandoned secret nuclear missile base reflects the political dynamics of the Cold War and the nuclear arms race. This once-classified site was visited by some 35,000 people from all over the world last year and the dim underground maze still gives off an eerie feeling. 'Dark tourism,' the visiting of sites associated with tragedy, is an oft-debated topic, with a fine line being walked between commemoration and sensationalism. The UNESCO World Heritage list recognizes places considered important to humanity and scenes of atrocity are sometimes part of that. The debate was ignited once again in July when Cambodia's Khmer Rouge torture sites were added to the list, 50 years on from the Communist government's rise to power. Dream Paris apartments for sale at bargain prices. The catch? Someone must die. This 'haunted' Venetian island is to become a locals-only haven. Tourists won't be allowed in this urban park. This is the world's only non-rectangular national flag. Here are the mysterious, mathematical origins of how it came about. This hilltop town is one of Europe's smallest countries. It's also one of the most unusual.
