Electrical Fault at Barcelona Airport Control Tower Causes Delays
Listen to the story
An electrical fault in the control tower at Barcelona-El Prat Airport has caused delays and cancellations for many flights.
The control tower is the building where staff manage planes as they land and take off. When it has a technical problem, the whole airport can be affected.
Because of the fault, ten flights were diverted to other airports. This means the planes could not land at El Prat and had to fly somewhere else instead.
Other flights were delayed, meaning they left later than planned. Some flights were cancelled completely, so they did not fly at all that day.
El Prat is one of the busiest airports in Spain, located near Barcelona. Problems like this can affect thousands of passengers, causing long waits and missed connections.
It is not yet clear exactly what caused the electrical fault. Airport authorities are working to fix the tower's systems and return flights to normal.
Passengers were told to check their flight status before travelling to the airport. Airlines usually try to help affected travellers by offering new flights or refunds.
This kind of disruption can also cause delays at other airports, since planes and crews often need to fly to several places in one day.
Vocabulary10 words
- electrical fault
- a problem with the electric system
- control tower
- a building where staff guide planes
- diverted
- sent to a different place instead of the planned one
- cancelled
- stopped from happening
- authorities
- the people in charge
- disruption
- a problem that stops things working normally
- technical
- connected to machines or systems
- passenger
- a person travelling on a plane
- connection
- a second flight you take to reach your final place
- status
- the current situation of something
Quiz
Answer key
1. In the control tower 2. They landed at other airports 3. Check their flight status before travelling
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
An electrical fault in the control tower at Barcelona-El Prat Airport has caused _____ and cancellations for many flights.
The control tower is the building where staff _____ planes as they land and take off.
Because of the fault, ten flights were _____ to other airports.
This means the planes could not land at El Prat and had to fly somewhere else _____.
Some flights were _____ completely, so they did not fly at all that day.
El Prat is one of the busiest airports in Spain, located near _____.
Problems like this can affect thousands of _____, causing long waits and missed connections.
It is not yet clear exactly what caused the electrical _____.
Airport _____ are working to fix the tower's systems and return flights to normal.
Passengers were told to check their flight _____ before travelling to the airport.