Blackouts Across Spain and Portugal Hit Travel
Photo Credit: Praça do Comércio, Lisbon, Portugal Unsplash / Claudio Schwarz
Skift Take
Air travel and public transport were severely impacted on Monday, including in the key tourist cities of Madrid and Lisbon.
Spain and Portugal have been hit by a major power outage that has delayed flights, caused traffic jams, and shut down public transport including metros and trains.
The outage is impacting the entire Iberian peninsula. Transport, internet services, and cell phone coverage have all been affected.
Spain has declared state of emergency. Its interior ministry said it's deploying 30,000 police officers to maintain security while the blackout continues.
A "rare atmospheric phenomenon”, is one of the possible causes of the outage, according to REN, Portugal’s grid operator. Investigations are ongoing.
Initial reports suggested it could take up to a week for the Portuguese network to fully normalize. However, as of 10 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET) on Monday, REN confirmed that more than 750,000 consumers were reconnected, including in Porto, the country's second-largest city.
How Is Travel Impacted?Transport networks have been halted i
