Over 40 Flights Canceled From Barcelona's Int'l Airport On Tuesday Amid Protests - Reports

Over 40 flights were canceled from Barcelona's El Prat airport on Tuesday after violent protests broke out on its territory, following the Spanish Supreme Court's ruling to imprison several Catalan independence leaders, media reported

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2019) Over 40 flights were canceled from Barcelona's El Prat airport on Tuesday after violent protests broke out on its territory, following the Spanish Supreme Court's ruling to imprison several Catalan independence leaders, media reported.

On Monday, Spain's Supreme Court issued sentences to nine Catalan leaders, ranging from nine to 13 years. Shortly after, protests broke out throughout the country. According to reports about 8,000 people congregated in El Prat to protest the ruling, with about 115 people receiving injuries from clashes with police.

According to the Spanish Aena flight operator, as cited by the El Periodico news outlet, a total of 45 out of 986 planned flights were canceled.

Hundreds of people slept on airport benches through the night, following the cancellation of 110 flights on Monday, the outlet reported.

So far, 140 flights have successfully departed the El Prat airport today, Aena said on Twitter.

Catalonia has been striving to secede from Spain for decades. On October 1, 2017, Catalonia held a referendum in which 90 percent of voters supported the region's independence from Spain. The turnout was, however, less than 50 percent. Madrid declared the referendum illegal and arrested a number of pro-independence leaders.