Severe thunderstorms dumped up to 95 litres of rain per square metre on Valencia and its suburbs late on 16 September, forcing Aena to close Valencia-Manises Airport for several hours and cancel or divert an estimated 28 flights. By 06:30 CEST on 17 September the runway had reopened, but airlines continued to report knock-on delays throughout the morning as ground crews cleared debris and rescheduled slots. Metrovalencia and Cercanías commuter rail lines, also flooded, gradually restored service, yet many schools across Valencia and Alicante kept classes online for the day, affecting commuter patterns. Emergency services logged more than 1,000 weather-related calls overnight, and local authorities declared a Level-2 civil-protection alert. For business travellers the immediate advice is to reconfirm departures from Valencia for at least the next 24 hours and consider rerouting through Madrid or Alicante. Companies with time-sensitive cargo should note that the regional logistics park at Riba-roja reported temporary road closures around the A-3. Climate-driven flash-flood events have become more frequent on Spain’s eastern seaboard, prompting Aena to accelerate drainage-upgrade projects at secondary hubs. Mobility managers may wish to incorporate heavier-rainfall scenarios into travel policies for staff operating in the Mediterranean corridor.
Source: Cadena SER
