Spain flight cancellations: Ryanair, British Airways, easyJet cancel flights as storms hit Barcelona airport
Severe storms have disrupted thousands of UK air passengers as Barcelona airport faces major delays and cancellations.
British Airways, easyJet, and Ryanair are among the airlines impacted by the extreme weather.
According to Aena, which manages Barcelona airport, 17 inbound flights were diverted to alternative airports, while approximately 50 departures were either cancelled or significantly delayed. The storms caused flooding in some areas of the airport, including the public area of Terminal 1, and led to further disruptions with local rail services suspended and nearby motorways flooded.
EasyJet said: “We have been advised that customers are receiving information to warn against all but essential travel to and from Barcelona due to severe weather conditions. We are planning on operating our flights as normal, although delays are to be expected.”
The airline, which serves Barcelona from eight UK airports, reported delays, including a flight from Barcelona to Gatwick expected to be delayed by three hours and 40 minutes.
British Airways also experienced significant delays, with at least six of its nine flights from Barcelona to Heathrow affected on Monday, including one flight delayed by three-and-a-half hours. Aena confirmed on its social media account that flights were diverted and 50 outbound flights were cancelled or severely delayed.
The rain and hail storm, which hit Barcelona on Monday, follows a week after devastating flash floods in the Valencia region, 300 kilometres to the south, which resulted in at least 217 deaths. While rain had ceased by late Monday morning, allowing the airport to resume operations, Catalonia’s urban rail services remained cancelled, according to Transport Minister Oscar Puente.