Life in Gibraltar came to a standstill on Tuesday afternoon when a sudden power outage hit the entire territory, leaving residents scrambling for help and emergency services stretched thin.
The blackout, which began around 1:40pm local time, was confirmed by the government to have been caused by damage from a contractor.
The incident has once again raised concerns, especially as Gibraltar only recently endured another widespread power disruption earlier this year.
Emergency Services Flooded With Calls
Local fire and rescue services reported being overwhelmed by a surge of calls, many from people trapped inside elevators when the lights went out.
“Due to the power failure, our control room is receiving a substantial number of calls from persons trapped in lifts,” the Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Services said in a statement.
All available crews were quickly redeployed across the territory to respond to these emergencies.
Flights and Roads Thrown Into Chaos
The outage had a ripple effect beyond just homes and businesses.
A British Airways flight headed for Gibraltar from London Heathrow had to be diverted to Malaga airport.
While the airline has not officially confirmed whether the diversion was tied to the power cut, the timing has raised questions.
On the ground, traffic became hazardous after signals stopped working, forcing authorities to urge drivers and pedestrians to exercise extreme caution.
Businesses Forced to Close
Shops and offices across Gibraltar also had no choice but to shut their doors as the blackout dragged on.
The Gibraltar Electric Authority confirmed that engineers were on-site and working to restore power, but no timeline was given for when electricity would return.
A Worrying Pattern of Outages
This isn’t the first time Gibraltar and the surrounding region have faced such disruption.
Just a few months ago, in April, one of Europe’s worst power outages in history swept across the Iberian Peninsula.
That incident left tens of millions without power for hours, shutting down hospitals, businesses, rail networks, and even phone systems.
In Spain alone, around 35,000 people had to be evacuated from more than 100 trains that ground to a halt.
A later government report blamed the crisis on a miscalculation by grid operator Redeia, alongside failures at coal, gas, and nuclear plants that couldn’t stabilize the system.
The result was a devastating cascade of disconnections.
What Comes Next for Gibraltar?
For Gibraltar, the immediate focus remains on restoring power and keeping residents safe.
Engineers are continuing their efforts, while emergency services handle the immediate fallout.
But as blackouts in the region become more frequent and more disruptive, questions are growing about infrastructure resilience and whether enough is being done to prevent these large-scale failures from happening again.