A massive power outage swept across Spain and Portugal on Monday, plunging millions into darkness and disrupting critical infrastructure in a sudden, nationwide blackout.

The outage, which struck late Monday morning local time, affected both countries, with Portuguese authorities confirming to local media that the blackout was nationwide.

Similar reports surfaced from Spain, indicating a broad impact across the Iberian Peninsula.

Major transportation hubs were severely impacted, with Madrid’s Barajas International Airport and Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport forced to close due to the loss of power.

Telecommunications networks also collapsed, leaving residents in both countries without access to mobile services, further complicating response efforts.

Airports across the Iberian Peninsula were brought to a standstill, with flights from Brussels and other European cities to Spain and Portugal cancelled, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded, Euronews has learned.

The power outage caused all Renfe trains to stop, with no departures from stations nationwide, the company announced on X.

Renfe, which operates over 1,000 trains daily and serves 1.3 million passengers across 5,000 journeys, manages critical public rail services, including high-speed AVE, Avlo, Alvia, Euromed, and Intercity trains.

This disruption has hit metro systems in Madrid and Lisbon, where trains remain stuck in tunnels between stations, according to Euronews Portugal.

Hospitals, including Madrid’s La Paz and several medical facilities in Portugal, have been affected as well, with some forced to cancel surgeries due to the outage.

A source at a hospital in Setúbal told Euronews that the facility is operating on a backup generator, which can support critical departments for 8 to 12 hours.

However, the hospital currently has no water supply, no internet access, and has yet to receive any guidance on when power will be restored or how to proceed.

Authorities have urged citizens to call 112 only in cases of genuine emergency to prevent overwhelming the system.

The Spanish government has convened an emergency meeting at Moncloa and is closely monitoring the situation as it unfolds. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has visited the control centre of Red Eléctrica, the operator of Spain’s electric grid, according to Euronews Spain.

Meanwhile, the European Commission issued a statement on Monday afternoon, confirming it is “in contact with the national authorities of Spain and Portugal, as well as the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), to understand the underlying cause and the impact of the situation.”

“As per EU legislation in place … there are protocols in place to restore the functioning of the system,” the statement read.

Juan Muñoz, who owns a butcher’s shop in central Madrid, said the blackout had left the fate of his products uncertain. Like many others, he was caught off guard: “I was very surprised, as I imagine everyone else was — nobody was expecting something like this,” he told Euronews.

Muñoz said he had taken what precautions he could but remained worried about how long the outage might continue.

“We’ve taken all the meat and put it in the walk-in fridge, and have kept it shut to retain the temperature for as long as possible,” he said.

“We’ve no idea how long this will last. Listening to the radio, they say they don’t know. I’ve heard that in some areas, some power is starting to return. But we’ll see – if it’s a question of several hours, the chicken will be destroyed.”

Mariana Guzmán, an employee at an ice cream shop and café in the city centre, said the business risked losing dozens of vats of ice cream if power was not restored within the next hour.

Standing behind the counter, she stated We’re just waiting to see what will happen because realistically, if it doesn’t return by then, we’ll have a big loss – they’ll start to melt and once that happens, it’s very dangerous to refreeze them. It’s already been more than an hour.”

“The street is closed and the businesses are concerned … [because] you could stand to lose a lot.”

Residents of Andorra and parts of France bordering Spain were also reporting being hit by the blackout. Further outages have been reported as far as Belgium, according to the latest information.

Electricity service has been restored in France after some areas experienced a partial outage, sources from the national grid operator RTE told the Spanish news agency Efe. The sources added that RTE is working on ways to reroute electricity to assist in reconnecting Spain. Power has also been restored in the Basque Country, according to reports.

By Monday afternoon, Red Eléctrica announced that it had begun gradually restoring power in both northern and southern Spain. However, the company warned that reconnecting all affected areas could take between six and ten hours due to technical challenges.