Are you affected? We want to hear from you

Are you in Spain or Portugal and affected by the power outage? We want to hear from you 

Get in touch via WhatsApp here or share your experiences in the comments box. By sending us your video footage, photographs or audio you agree we can publish, broadcast and edit the material. 

No flights from Lisbon until 10pm

An update to bring you now from Portugal’s airport operator.

ANA has just said it does not expect flights to take off from Lisbon until 10pm local time.

Flights are running from Porto and Faro airports, but with limitations, it added.

If you want to know what you can and can’t do if your flight is impacted, see our post at 17.45.

‘No information’ that cyberattack caused outage, says Portuguese grid operator

Portugal’s grid operator said it has “no information” the power outages were caused by a cyberattack.

Ren board member Joao Conceicao has told reporters it can’t be ruled out that the blackout was due to a “very large oscillation in the electrical voltages, first in the Spanish system, which then spread to the Portuguese system”.

“There could be a thousand and one causes, it’s premature to assess the cause,” he added.

Conceicao said they hope to reestablish power in the country’s second-largest city, Porto, within the next two hours and within five or six in the capital, Lisbon.

State of emergency declared in Spain

Spain’s interior ministry has declared a state of emergency after today’s nationwide power blackout. 

The ministry added emergency status will be applied in the regions that request it.

So far, Madrid, Andalusia and Extremadura have asked for the central government to take over public order and other functions.

Millions of people across Spain have been affected by the blackouts, as have key industries such as transportation and telecommunications.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said a “strong oscillation” in the grid is behind the outage, but the cause is still unclear.

Passengers still stuck on plane ‘for more than two hours’

The impact of the mass blackout is being felt in the UK as well.

We’ve just had a message in from Jason Candy-Torn, who says he’s been stuck on a plane at Manchester Airport.

He’s due to fly to Agadir, in Morocco, and the flight was meant to take off at 4.50pm.

The airport’s website listed that flight’s status as “final call”, with no information on the delay.

In the meantime, Jason showed us a picture of these little treats.

“All we have been told is that they are waiting for an answer, and they have just given us this to get us going,” he said, adding the plane’s door is still open.

Staff are on the ground outside, who Jason said are constantly in and out of the plane.

Just joined us? Here’s what you need to know in seven bullet points

We’ve just passed eight hours since the first reports of a blackout emerged, since which time we’ve had a number of significant developments.

If you’re just joining us – or you just want a recap – here’s a quick breakdown of what you need to know in seven quick points:

• Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao and Lisbon are among cities to have been hit by a major power outage;
• Transport, internet services and water pumps have all been affected;
• Power is starting to return in some parts of Spain, but in Portugal the grid operator says it is more complicated;
• It added it could take up to a week for the network to fully normalise again – after “rare atmospheric phenomenon” affected Spain’s systems;
• Drivers in Spain have been urged not to use their cars unless necessary, and phones should be used “responsibly” as telecommunications are at a “critical moment”;
• Portugal’s grid operator E-Redes said the outage was due to “a problem with the European electricity system”;
• There is no indication at the moment of the cause of the outage.

In pictures: Gridlock in Madrid as crowds gather on streets in Spain

These are some of the latest pictures coming out of Spain, showing gridlock in Madrid and huge crowds outside a train station in Barcelona.

Power recovery ‘especially complex’ in Portugal

Portugal’s electricity distributor has restored production at a hydroelectric and thermoelectric plant, it has said.

But Ren added these kind of operations are “particularly complex” compared to Spain, given Portugal relies on its own resources only, rather than contributions from France and Morocco.

It added it was prioritising supply to key infrastructure, such as hospitals, airports and railways.

‘The traffic lights went out as we drove to the airport’

We’re getting messages almost every minute from people impacted by today’s mass blackout.

Some, like Emma Jackson, were on their way to the airport when the power outage hit.

In the drive to the airport in Lisbon, the traffic lights went out in the Portuguese capital, causing “some collisions”, she told us.

“Once we got to the airport it was only partly lit and the automatic boarding pass gates were not operating,” Emma, who was supposed to be flying back to Manchester after celebrating a 59th birthday with friends, added.

“After about an hour of waiting, an announcement came on asking people to leave the airport due to the power outage.

“This led to hundreds of people waiting outside in the sun with no transport to get anywhere.”

Luckily, she said, they managed to stay inside and were told by their airline, Tap Portugal, to call a number to rearrange flights via Brussels tomorrow.

“We also secured hotels rooms, but there are lots of stranded people still around the airport,” she added.

If you’ve been impacted by flight delays or cancellations, our post below explains what your options are…

Explained: What you can do if your flight is impacted

Airports – and therefore flights – have not escaped the impact from the blackouts across Spain and Portugal.

Many of you have written in to us about problems across the two countries, with flights due to bring you home now delayed or cancelled.

We’ve caught up with consumer rights expert Helen Dewdney, who runs the Complaining Cow website.

The bad news is, passengers will generally not be entitled to compensation on this occasion as this would be considered an extraordinary circumstance, she told us.

But the airline must still “look after you”.

“It must provide food, drinks and access to communications, in the unlikely event you don’t have a mobile phone, or it’s not charged,” she added.

“You are entitled to this if you are delayed more than two hours on short haul, three hours on medium and four on long haul.”

Overnight delays should mean the airline must provide you with a hotel and travel to and from there – that doesn’t change even if the circumstances are beyond the airline’s control.

“But given the advice to stay at home and the fact that you won’t be able to get anything at the airport, this is problematic for them to abide by the rules,” she said.

“However, if you are in the UK waiting to fly then they should be able to abide by the rules.”

Once your flight is delayed by more than five hours, and you no longer want to travel, then you are entitled to a refund, she added.

You can also check the Civil Aviation Authority for more information.

All of Spain’s nuclear reactors safe from power outages, says council

Spain’s nuclear safety council has said all seven of the country’s nuclear reactors are safe.

Four of them stopped operating automatically once the power cut hit, after which point emergency generators kicked in.

The other three reactors were not operating at the time, but emergency generators switched on anyway to keep them in a safe condition, the council added.