A technical fault at UK airports downed over 2,000 flights this week. Now the extent of the knock-on impact on Spanish airports is becoming clearer, with hundreds of delays and cancellations continuing into Thursday.
An air traffic control failure at UK airports on Tuesday has caused serious second-hand consequences on Spanish air hubs, with delays and cancellations reported across the country and even continuing at some bases on Thursday.
The technical glitch saw over 2,000 flights cancelled in the UK on Tuesday and Wednesday. With aircraft and crew stranded around the world, airlines warn that it may take some time to return to full schedule and thousands of travellers may have travel to Spain disrupted.
A Heathrow spokesperson said Wednesday that its “operations are recovering” but also highlighted that “we are expecting knock-on impacts as aircraft and crew reposition.”
As flight schedules slowly return to normal on Thursday, it has become clear just how hard hit Spanish airports were as a result, with all major airports across the country impacted.
On Wednesday, for example, some 31 flights were cancelled to Málaga alone, and a further 29 to airports in the Balearic Islands.
Ryanair said Tuesday that over 60,000 of its passengers were hit by eight hour delays.
The Irish low-cost airline, as well as other major budget brands such as EasyJet, Jet2 and Vueling, all enjoy strong presences in the UK and Spanish markets, were forced to down their planes on some of the most popular routes anywhere in the world.
In July 2025 alone, for example, more than two million English-speaking tourists visited Spain.
According to figures from Aena, Spain’s state airport operator, approximately 229 flights were cancelled across the country, affecting 23 airports in total.
According to Spanish media reports and flight tracker information, the impacted airports in Spain were mainly located in coastal areas, notably Alicante-Elche, Almería, Barcelona El Prat, Bilbao, Girona-Costa Brava, Málaga-Costa del Sol, Murcia, Jerez, Reus, San Sebastián, Santander, and Valencia.
Madrid-Barajas, Santiago-Rosalía de Castro, Seville and Zaragoza were also hit.
Various airports on Spain’s islands, popular holiday destinations for British travellers and bases for budget airlines, have also been hit by backlogs, including the Balearic Islands (Ibiza, Menorca and Palma de Mallorca) and those in the Canary Islands (Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife South).
As of Thursday lunchtime, arrivals information suggests that flights from the UK are again arriving in Spanish airports as service resumes on cancelled flights, though with some delays and cancellations, particularly at Canary Island airports, which is still showing delays on arrivals from the UK.
Similarly, arrivals information at Valencia airport shows some UK flights as cancelled or delayed.
Be sure to check with your airline before travelling.
