ALERT: Irish tourists warned before travelling amid 'snap blackout' in parts of Europe

Irish tourists who are set to travel to Spain, Portugal or France are warned amid a major power outage that has left millions without electricity on Monday April 28.

According to Euronews.com, "Spain and Portugal experienced a widespread power outage on Monday, leaving millions without electricity in a snap blackout."

European airports such as Madrid's Barajas International Airport and Lisbon's Humberto Delgado were closed after being left without power, and telecommunications have also been affected, with residents across the two countries saying they have no access to mobile networks.

Traffic lights have stopped in most places, subway networks are knocked out, phone lines are gone and ATM machines have been shut down, along with many other disruptions due to the nationwide power outages.

According to The Portugal News, "The Government has created a working group to monitor the blackout affecting Portugal from North to South and other European countries and points out that the problem “may have originated” outside Portugal".

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Large parts of Spain and Portugal have been hit by a power outage.

The power outage knocked out subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights and ATM machines.

Read more: https://t.co/ZLZEsX1g6x pic.twitter.com/Ny10kHMGIK

— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 28, 2025

Meanwhile, other airports have come to a standstill throughout the Iberian Peninsula, and flights from Brussels and other European cities to Spain and Portugal have been cancelled, leaving hundreds stranded, Euronews has reported.

According to BBC News, "The president of the EU Council and the Portuguese prime minister say there's "no indication" of a cyber attack".

It is said that the outage was caused by a "rare" atmospheric phenomenon due to "extreme variations" in temperatures.