Ryanair has complained after an extreme weather “phenomenon” caused major flight disruption at Palma airport.
Delays and cancellations coincided with the start of a Spanish public holiday long weekend.
“This surge in passenger numbers, combined with the challenging weather conditions, is likely to lead to further delays,” the airport warned. “Passengers are advised to plan accordingly and prepare for potential disruptions.”
The Spanish Meteorological Agency (Aemet) had earlier issued a red alert for the Balearic Islands, warning of the heightened risk of heavy rain and storms throughout Wednesday, when conditions were forecast to deteriorate again in the evening.
Ryanair issued an apology to passengers for “excessive delays and cancellations” at the Majorca airport the following day.
Europe’s largest airline claimed that the Spanish air traffic control service had made a “nonsensical decision” to block inbound aircraft from landing on Thursday morning due to “weather”.
But the budget carrier claimed that there were “no weather issues as confirmed by the fact that flights departing Palma were allowed to continue as normal”.
Ryanair added: “Passengers were allowed to leave Palma de Mallorca but those coming on holiday were not allowed to arrive.”
The airline said it had been unable to contact the head of Spanish air traffic control to reverse the decision and called on Spain’s transport minister to explain why the airport “was closed for arriving passengers due to non-existent weather issues”.
Chief operations officer Neal McMahon said: “This is the latest example of terrible air traffic control performance this summer, which has caused repeated and unnecessary disruption to passengers.
“Ryanair once again calls on Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, to reform the shambolic ATC services.”
An operational update issued by Palma airport on Wednesday said adverse weather conditions were causing considerable flight delays.
“The abrupt shift in weather, marked by storms and heavy rainfall, is causing major disruptions to normal flight operations,” the statement said.
“The current weather disturbance is attributed to a phenomenon known as DANA, short for ‘Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos,’ which translates to ‘Isolated High-Level Depression.’
“This meteorological event occurs when a pocket of cold air becomes isolated at high altitudes, detached from the surrounding atmosphere. As this cold air descends to lower levels, it encounters warmer, moisture-laden air.
“This interaction often triggers severe weather changes, particularly intense rainfall and thunderstorms.
“Majorca, due to its location and the influence of warm Mediterranean air, is especially prone to DANA events, particularly in late summer and autumn.
“These conditions can lead to substantial rainfall in a short period, resulting in flooding and flash floods.”
It added: “DANA events can often cause disruptions to flight schedules at Palma airport.”
Jet2.com had issued an alert over possible flight delays on Wednesday “due to air traffic control congestion as a result of weather across Europe”.