British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair are among the airlines affected with dozens of flights being hit by severe delays or diversions due to storms
Thousands of British holidaymakers have seen their journeys disrupted after one of Spain’s busiest airports has been hit by severe storms.
Around 50 flights set to depart from Barcelona-El Prat Airport on Monday, November 4, were either cancelled or significantly delayed after the Spanish city was battered by record-breaking levels of rain, leading to flooding in some areas of the building including the public area of Terminal 1. The airport’s owner and operator Aena confirmed that 17 inbound flights had also been diverted to alternative airports on Monday.
British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair are among the UK airlines affected, each with several flights delayed. Ryanair currently operates flights twice weekly from Newcastle Airport to Barcelona on Mondays and Thursdays, with the flight set to depart for the city at 3.55pm today listed as being on time according to the live departures list on the Newcastle Airport website at the time of writing.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “Affected passengers will be notified and any passengers travelling to/from Spain on Monday, November 4 should check their Ryanair app for the latest updates on their flight.
“We regret any inconvenience caused to passengers by these weather conditions, which are outside of Ryanair’s control and affect all airlines operating to/from Spain on Monday, November 4.”
However, easyJet, which offers flights to Barcelona from eight UK airports, has seen delays of up to several hours on Monday’s journeys due to the extreme weather. The airline told passengers: “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.”
It added: “We are planning on operating our flights as normal, although delays are to be expected.” One easyJet flight scheduled to depart from Gatwick on Monday afternoon is expected to be delayed by three hours and 40 minutes.
In addition, at least six of British Airways’ nine flights from Barcelona to Heathrow on Monday were delayed, including one which was due to be three-and-a-half hours late.
Barcelona’s main airport is the second busiest in Spain after Madrid and the seventh busiest for passenger numbers in Europe, having seen more than 40 million travellers pass through its doors last year. The city is among many areas of Spain that have been devastated by storms in recent days, with an elderly British couple confirmed to be among the more than 200 lives that have been lost in the ensuing floods.
The Foreign Office updated its official travel advice for British holidaymakers heading to Spain last week in the wake of flash flooding in Valencia, with the region battered by a year’s worth of rain in just eight hours. Those travelling to Spain are advised to check the latest weather warnings from the country’s meteorological office, and follow instructions from local authorities.
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