Summary
- Severe weather in Mallorca resulted in over 100 flights being disrupted at Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI).
- Airlines, such as Ryanair, easyJet, Eurowings, and Vueling, were forced to cancel or divert flights on June 11.
- By June 12, the situation stabilized and airlines have resumed normal operations at PMI.
Following severe weather over the Balearic Islands, Spain, Mallorca and its airport, Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI), suffered significant disruption on June 11. As a result, more than 100 flights were delayed, canceled, or diverted from PMI during the day, with the situation normalizing on June 12.
Severe flooding
Videos shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed the airport, as well as Palma, the capital of the island, being flooded following the massive amount of rain that fell on the island on June 11.According to the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, AEMET), PMI, one of the weather stations of the Balearic Islands, had accumulated 71.8 millimeters (7.8 inches) of precipitation on June 11. As of 12:30 local time (UTC +2) on June 12, PMI accumulated 8.9 mm (0.35 in) of precipitation.
Still, Flightradar24 detailed that on June 11, 38 flights diverted from PMI, with the most affected airline being Ryanair, which diverted nine flights away from the airport. Vueling and Eurowings diverted eight flights each. Czechia-based Smartwings and Lauda Europe, a subsidiary of the Ryanair Group, had diverted four flights each.
Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock
According to the flight tracking website, the majority of these flights diverted to Valencia Airport (VLC), Mahon Menorca Airport (MAH), and Barcelona El Prat Airport (BCN). Five aircraft chose Ibiza Airport (IBZ) as their alternative landing points, while some diverted to other airports outside Spain, such as easyJet flight U28085 or Eurowings flight EW9582 that flew to Manchester Airport (MAN) and Dusseldorf Airport (DUS), respectively.
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Arrival and departure cancelations from/to PMI
Flightradar24 pointed out that on June 11, carriers had canceled 42 and 39 departing and arriving flights, respectively. Eurowings was forced to cancel the largest number of flights from/to PMI, totaling 27 flights. Ryanair was second with 24 canceled arriving and departing flights.
On June 12, only one departing flight, Vueling flight VY3954, was canceled. In terms of arrivals, easyJet flight U28091 and Vueling flight VY3955 were the only two commercial flights that were canceled by the operators, with some private jet itineraries being abandoned by their operators.
Photo: Colinmthompson | Shutterstock
According to data from the aviation analytics company Cirium, airlines have scheduled 2,842 weekly flights to PMI in June 2024. 396 of those were on Tuesdays, which was June 11, while 405 arriving flights were on Wednesdays, which was June 12. In terms of departures from PMI, there are a total of 2,839 weekly flights leaving the airport. Carriers have scheduled 395 departures on Tuesdays and 404 departures on Wednesdays from PMI in June.
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Potential flight compensation
While the European Union (EU) has some of the best consumer protections when flights are canceled, delayed, or diverted, Regulation 261/2004, simply known as the EU261 rule, does exempt airlines from compensating passengers in the case of extraordinary circumstances.
Photo: Photofex_AUT | Shutterstock
The rule has defined an extraordinary circumstance as a case of political instability, severe meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of a flight, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings, or strikes that affect the operations of an airline or a flight operator.
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The Air Passengers Rights Regulation 2004 safeguards consumer rights after delays and cancelations.