The airports and flights impacted by Europe's power outage

Yahoo

28-04-2025

There are reports of widespread travel chaos in Europe following power cuts in Spain, Portugal and parts of France.
Extreme weather has been blamed for the outages, which have caused flights to be delayed and cancelled across the continent. Madrid's Barajas International Airport and Lisbon's Humberto Delgado were closed after being left without power, while emergency generators were activated in Barcelona. Porto and Faro airport report 'operation constraints'.
'Power outages in Portugal and Spain are impacting access to some airports, and affecting some airports' operations including [at] Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona,' easyJet said in a statement.
'Like all airlines, we are experiencing some disruption to our flying programme meaning that some return flights from Lisbon and Madrid have been unable to operate.'
'Our flying programme at Porto and Faro airports is operating as planned.'
'As the situation remains fluid, we are advising customers to check local travel advice and our flight tracker for information on their flights. For passengers who are in Spain or Portugal and unable to travel to the airport today, we are providing free of charge transfers to an alternative easyJet flight within 72 hours or a flight voucher.'
The airline confirms that the incident has left them unable to operate two flights from Bristol Airport, and one from London Luton. London Gatwick Airport also reported delayed flights to affected areas.
Portuguese airline TAP Air said: 'Due to the power cut in several European countries, the operation of airports is temporarily very limited. TAP requests that [passengers] do not go to the airport until further information.'
Spain's energy operator, Red Electrica, has estimated that it will take between six and 10 hours to restore power in the country. REN in Portugal said it believes it could take up to a week for normal service to resume.
A message to travellers on Barcelona-El Prat Airport's website suggests disruption is expected to continue: 'Due to the power outage, some incidents are occurring at the airports. Contingency generators are active. Please check with your airline, as there may be disruptions to access and ground transportation.' The airport's departure board presents ongoing delays and cancellations.
Here we explain what affected passengers need to know. Read our full guide to compensation here.
If your flight to or from a UK or EU airport (or with a UK/EU airline) is cancelled outright, whatever the reason, your airline must offer you either a full refund or a seat on the soonest available alternative flight, even if it is with a rival carrier.Contact your airline directly if you do wish to claim a refund, but beware that in doing so you will waive your right to being placed on another flight.
If you have booked a package holiday through an ATOL-protected tour operator and your flight has been cancelled, then you will either be placed on the next reasonable available flight (potentially from a different airport) or offered a full refund or rebooking option.
In the event of a long delay, and regardless of the cause, airlines must provide food and drink appropriate to the time of day (often in the form of a voucher) and a means of communicating your delay or a refund for the cost of essential phone calls. For overnight delays, you must be given hotel accommodation and transport to it – or to return home if you are on the outward leg. If there's major disruption, you may have to make your own arrangements and claim back the cost. Be reasonable when booking accommodation – don't expect a full refund for an expensive hotel unless there is no alternative. Receipts are essential.
A long delay means, for short flights (up to 1,500km), two hours or more; for mid-haul journeys (1,500 to 3,500km), three hours; for longer trips, four hours.
To claim additional cash compensation, the hold-up must have been the airline's fault. This does not include severe weather, for example, and will not include this week's power outage.
Again, this applies only if the airline is to blame for your flight being cancelled.
Yes, if all the flights are made under the same booking reference and the connection is made at an EU airport. For example, if you are due to fly from London via Madrid to Buenos Aires and you miss your connection in Madrid because the flight from London arrives an hour late, you can claim for long-haul compensation as long as the delay in arriving at your final destination, in this case Buenos Aires, is more than three hours.
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