Portuguese airline tells passengers not to travel to airports
Air carrier TAP Portugal said today that ticket-holders should not travel to airports until further notice, as Portugal and Spain deal with a crippling power outage.
“Due to the power cut in several European countries, the operation of airports is temporarily very limited. TAP requests that you do not go to the airport until further information,” the airline said on its website.
Madrid mayor warns people to keep roads clear
The mayor of Madrid, the Spanish capital, has told people to stay where they are and ensure that roads are kept clear for emergency services.
“I ask all residents of Madrid to keep their movements to an absolute minimum and, if at all possible, to remain where they are. We want to keep all roads clear,” José Luis Martínez-Almeida said in a video on X.
He added that traffic lights and streetlights were out across the city and some road tunnels had been closed.
Play suspended at the Madrid Open tennis tournament
Tennis players at the Madrid Open were forced to leave the court midmatch as the massive power outage affected scoreboards and cameras, NBC News’ International partner Sky News reported.
The tournament’s organizers said on X that they were “working to restore normality as soon as possible.”
Portuguese minister says blackout could be result of cyberattack
A member of the Portuguese government has said today’s huge power outage could have been caused by a malicious cyberattack, adding that the loss of power is affecting not just Portugal and Spain but also France and Germany.
Portuguese news agency Lusa today attributed the comments to the minister for the territorial cohesion of Portugal, Manuel Castro Almeida.
The National Cyber Security Centre said in a separate statement that “no evidence has yet been identified that points to a cyber-attack.”
Earlier, Lusa reported that the Portuguese government was creating a working group to monitor the blackout and said it was investigating reports that the problem may have originated from outside the country.
Businesses navigate the dark in northwestern Spain
A man walks a child through a darkened food market, as another stands in the doorway of an empty bar in Vigo, northwestern Spain, during a nationwide blackout also affecting neighboring Portugal.
A huge power cut has left large parts of Spain and Portugal in the dark
Traffic lights are out in Lisbon, planes are stuck at airports and tennis was suspended at the Madrid Open today as an unexplained and widespread power outage caused chaos across the Iberian Peninsula, plunging much of Spain and Portugal into darkness.
Spanish public service broadcaster RTVE reported that the outage hit just after midday local time (6 a.m. ET), leaving its own newsroom in the dark as well as Madrid’s subway stations and the Spanish parliament building.
Spanish electricity grid operator Red Electrica said in a statement that it was working with energy companies to restore power and was gradually beginning to recover power in the north and south of the peninsula.
The two countries have a combined population of 50 million and it is unclear how many people are affected.
