Spain Portugal power outage: Holiday hotspots Madrid, Seville, Barcelona hit by massive outage - holidaymakers brace for travel chaos

Telephone and train lines are currently inactive as authorities deal with the chaos. Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica has said it is working with energy companies to restore power as quickly as possible.

On social media, the firm said that it had invoked "power supply restoration plans in coordination with industry partners following the blackout across the peninsula." It added: "The causes of the incident are being investigated, and all available resources are being allocated to resolve it as quickly as possible."

Hotspots Seville, Barcelona and Valencia have all been affected by the outage. While in capital Madrid, the underground network has been evacuated, traffic lights are down, and play has been suspended at the Madrid Open tennis tournament.

Its Barajas international airport, which serves around one million passengers daily, has also been left without power. And in a further sign of looming travel chaos, Spain's rail network Renfe said the power outage struck on a "national level" at 12.30pm (11.30am BST).

All its trains have been stopped and no departures are taking place, it added. Meanwhile in Portugal, official sources have told domestic media that the blackouts are nationwide.

Metrovalencia, the urban rail system, encompassing both metro and tram services in Valencia, said traffic in the city is "disrupted" due to a "general power outage in the city". In a post on X, Metrovalencia added: "The extent and duration of the outage are unknown."