After the severe storm in Mallorca, the situation at Palma airport continues to be tense. Many travelers are still waiting for their return flight. The sea rescue is looking for two missing German sailors.
A severe storm has caused chaos on Mallorca and partly on the other Balearic Islands. Because of the weather-related cancellation of dozens of flights, hundreds of tourists had to spend Monday night at Palma airport. According to reports from regional media, the situation there in the late afternoon was still anything but relaxed.
At the airport there are still long queues of stranded travelers as well as annoyed and scolding passengers, the local newspaper “Mallorca Diario” reported. According to the “Mallorca Zeitung”, passengers also reported a “fight” between vacationers and ground staff. Airlines employees even cried in desperation. Among those affected are also many German vacationing families with very small children.
A total of 29 departures were canceled at Son Sant Joan Airport on Sunday, according to the Spanish airport administration authority Aena. In addition, 27 incoming flights were canceled and 18 were diverted. According to media reports, there were still many delays on Monday.
Two German sailors missing
Two German sailors who were traveling from Menorca to Mallorca on Sunday in their nine-meter-long boat were reported missing. The Spanish sea rescue service said it was a 50-year-old and his 19-year-old son. According to official information, two rescue ships and a helicopter took part in the search on the so-called Menorca Channel between the two Balearic Islands.
It is still unclear whether the disappearance of the boat “Makan Angin” has anything to do with the storm.
Close people only notified the authorities from Germany on Sunday evening around 6.30 p.m. It is not known whether the two missing persons are tourists or Germans living in the Balearic Islands.
Several slightly injured on Cruise ship
Regarding media reports that the cruise ship “Britannia” collided with a tanker in a storm, a spokesman for P&O Cruises told Sky News that the ship was involved in a “weather-related incident” at the port of Palma on Sunday. A “small number of people” suffered minor injuries and were treated on board.
According to a recent report by the Balearic emergency service, the sometimes violent storms with hurricane gusts and heavy rain led to more than 450 incidents in Mallorca alone, mainly as a result of fallen trees. According to official information, no people were seriously injured. The two children who had been blown away by the strong wind on an air mattress in the sea off Illetes beach in Calviá were brought ashore unharmed.
Warning level on yellow downgraded
The storms also caused some chaos on the neighboring islands of Ibiza and Menorca. Towards Sunday evening, however, the weather on the Balearic Islands had calmed down again. The weather service Aemet lowered the warning level from orange to yellow. There is currently a warning about high waves on the coast.