After the Blackout: How Spain’s Airports and Mallorca Handled the Powercut

Wednesday, April 30th, 2025

Airport operations across Spain

Following the widespread power outage that affected large parts of mainland Spain on the 28th of April 2025, Spain’s airport operator Aena confirmed in a press release on 29/4 that all airports remained operational throughout the disruption. Thanks to automatic backup power systems, airport infrastructure continued to function both during the day and overnight.

Airports adjusted their schedules, including night operations, to accommodate passengers affected by flight delays or cancellations. While flight operations were largely maintained—with approximately 93% of scheduled commercial flights going ahead—access to some airports was hampered by disruptions to public and private transport in various cities. Additionally, temporary airspace restrictions by ENAIRE, the national air navigation authority, contributed to a limited number of flight cancellations.

Crisis management teams remained active across the airport network throughout to ensure ongoing coordination with airlines and air traffic control. Aena has expressed gratitude to all personnel involved, as well as to passengers for their patience and understanding.

Impact on Mallorca and Palma Airport

Mallorca was largely spared from the direct effects of the national power outage. The island’s electricity grid is independent of the mainland system and remained fully operational, which meant that Palma Airport continued to function without major disruption.

However, there were some indirect consequences on the island. Temporary disruptions were reported in communication networks, and some businesses experienced problems with card payments due to intermittent network instability. Despite these issues, essential services in Mallorca remained largely unaffected.

Investigating the cause of the outage

The cause of the power cut is still being investigated. Preliminary findings suggest that a fault in the high-voltage transmission system may have triggered the widespread disruption. Spain’s electricity grid operator, Red Eléctrica, has launched a comprehensive investigation to identify the root cause and prevent similar events in the future.

Authorities have stated that the incident was not caused by a cyberattack, and more detailed findings are expected to follow in the coming days.

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