The Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing has received comprehensive reports from the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), National Communications Authority (ANACOM), and Institute of Mobility and Transport (IMT) on the wide-ranging effects of the nationwide blackout on April 28, 2025.

The reports assess the disruption caused in aviation, telecommunications, and transport sectors, offering urgent and long-term recommendations to improve resilience and crisis response.

Aviation: Major Flight Disruptions

ANAC reported significant flight cancellations, especially at Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport where 348 flights were canceled, affecting 66,000 passengers. Porto and Faro airports also faced cancellations, while island airports were less affected. Despite the blackout, air traffic control and airport management services remained fully operational.

Recommendations include revising telecom contracts, creating contingency plans for power and communication failures, conducting joint emergency drills, prioritizing renewable energy sources, and enhancing passenger information campaigns.

Telecommunications: Emergency Networks Strained

ANACOM highlighted that the blackout severely impacted mobile and fixed networks, hindering emergency calls and coordination between authorities. Access to emergency number 112 was limited on fixed lines but remained functional via mobile networks when available. This prompted an urgent study to replace Portugal’s emergency communications system (SIRESP).

Proposed measures include improving backup power with renewables at cell sites, securing dedicated emergency SIM cards, expanding public alert systems with Cell Broadcast technology, enhancing satellite backup, and coordinating crisis communication drills.

Transport: Rail and Metro Services Disrupted

IMT’s analysis showed that while transport infrastructure remained intact, the outage immobilized 93 trains across metro systems and national railways, partly mitigated by a pre-existing rail strike. The report calls for greater power grid resilience, minimum energy autonomy for critical services, prioritized fuel resupply plans, and improved coordination with emergency authorities.

Additional recommendations include installing onboard energy storage for trains to enable safe evacuations, increasing emergency drills for rail incidents, and ensuring priority fuel access for roadside assistance fleets.

The Ministry will carefully review these findings and recommendations to strengthen Portugal’s preparedness for future energy crises.