Flights disrupted as storms and heavy rainfall batter northeast Spain
The Balearic Islands and Catalonia are among the worst-hit areas, with severe delays and cancellations at the region’s main airports
Severe storms and heavy rainfall that began in the early hours of this morning, 9 September, have battered northeastern Spain, disrupting travel across the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia. The adverse weather has caused widespread delays and cancellations at several major airports in the region.
In the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca Airport has been among the hardest hit. Earlier today, ENAIRE, Spain’s air navigation manager, confirmed that diversion procedures were activated due to the weather, but have since been lifted. According to Flightradar24 data, Palma’s arrival and departure delay indexes currently stand at 5, the highest possible level. Ibiza Airport has also been badly affected, with a disruption index of 4.3.
By 10 am, the Balearic emergency services had reported 48 weather-related incidents in Mallorca, including flooding.
On the mainland, Barcelona’s Josep Tarradellas-El Prat Airport has also faced significant disruption. Flightradar data shows a total of 276 delayed flights so far, with its disruption index also reaching the maximum level.
Spain’s meteorological agency, Aemet, has issued weather warnings across the affected regions. For the rest of the day, a yellow alert remains in place for Catalonia and parts of Andalusia, while the Balearic Islands and the regions of Valencia and Murcia are under an orange alert. In the Balearic Islands, the orange warning will remain in effect until tomorrow, 10 September.
Last month, the Iberian Peninsula was challenged by more extreme weather, as a scorching heatwave and wildfires gripped the region.