Monday’s news that the Iberian peninsula has been hit with massive power cuts will make concerning reading for many planning to visit.
Small areas of France, close to the Spanish border, have also been affected, but not as severely.
Here’s everything you need to know about the situation and which areas arebworst affected.
At Madrid and Lisbon, each country’s respective busiest airport, dozens of flights were cancelled and at London Heathrow, British Airways has been forced to ground at least one return flight to the Portuguese capital.
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“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,” the airline adds, but reassuring passengers that “our flying programme at Porto and Faro airports is operating as planned.”
The airline is also letting passengers know that those stranded in Portugal or Spain who are unable to travel are entitled to free-of-charge transfers within 72 hours, or a flight voucher.
Many rail options are out of service and roads are chaotic
Spain has an enormous rail network, and it has the largest amount of high-speed rail lines in all of Europe.
In Madrid and Barcelona, as well as Lisbon and Porto across the border, Metro and electric tram networks came to an abrupt halt, with some passengers trapped underground.
Pedestrians walk past a stopped tram in Lisbon, Portugal as the power outage there continues (Photoi: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP)What can I do if my travel is disrupted?
While Spanish grid operator, Red Electrica, is confident that electricity across the Iberian Peninsula will be restored “eventually”, hundreds of thousands of travellers are likely to have their trips disrupted.
“We are aware of reports of power outages across Andorra, mainland Spain and mainland Portugal and are monitoring the situation,” the FCDO wrote.
That same warning has also been issued for Portugal – but the FCDO hasn’t warned against all non-essential travel, which means options are limited when it comes to travellers’ rights.
Most airlines have explained that the situation is out of their control, so will be able to offer minimum assistance.
Some travel insurance policies do provide cover for events like this and some may help you to postpone your trip, albeit it often for a fee.
UK passenger rights apply to flights departing from an airport in the UK on any airline, arriving at an airport in the UK on an EU or UK airline, or arriving at an airport in the EU on a UK airline.
If a delay or cancellation was not the fault of an airline, it may be considered to be an “extraordinary circumstance” and that generally means that passengers are unlikely to receive compensation for a delay or cancellation.
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