Passengers at Manchester Airport are facing travel chaos as all flights are either cancelled or having severe delays after a power cut in the local area.
People are being told to not even travel to the airport if they have flights from Terminals 1 and 2 while Terminal 3 is running but is severely affected. Some flights to the airport are also being diverted.
Manchester Airport stated: "All flights from Terminals 1 and 2 are being cancelled until further notice and passengers due to travel from those terminals are advised not to come to the airport and to stay in touch with their airlines."
Images show large queues stretching outside of the airport this morning as many people are looking to get away for a break at the start of the summer holiday season. And a huge number of bags can also be seen gathered with the airport warning passengers that some flights will be leaving without all the luggage onboard.
Many people have reacted angrily on social media. One person wrote at 6.35am: "We've been stood for over an hour and a half in the same spot as we we're before, still being told that "normal services will resume ASAP" our flight leaves at 10 past 7!!"
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The build up of bags at the airport during the chaos (ZENPIX LTD)Another stated: "Utter disgrace, the airport should have back up systems / generators for this sort of scenario. Expect the unexpected. In general this airport is a shambles and needs major investment. I don’t see how a power cut causes a toilet blockage across T1. Management should resign."
Ian Ellison, 42, told The Sun that he along with his wife and five-year-old child were forced to wait on a plane at Terminal 1 for two hours after returning from Paphos in Cyprus. He also said that there were around 10,000 people in Terminal 2
He claimed there were bags throughout the hall without indication of which carousel they had come from. "It was just pure luck my family's bags were close together, but on different belts" he said. "Terminal 2 was absolute chaos... as you walk into it there was people everywhere."
The airport said the issue - which occurred in the early hours of the morning - had caused "widespread disruption" which is particularly affecting flights from Terminals 1 and 2..
Manchester Airport initially said passengers who are travelling from Terminals 1 or 2 should contact their airlines for up-to-date information before coming to the airport but it now says they they should stay away with flights cancelled. While those heading to Terminal 3 are expected to face delays but should come to airport as normal unless advised otherwise by their airline.
People are facing cancellations or delays (X/SebbieJ)Meanwhile, airlines will organise any onward journey for those whose flights are cancelled, added the airport. "Passengers due to fly from Terminal 3 should come to the airport as normal unless advised otherwise by their airline, but could be affected by delays," Manchester Airport advised.
It said that it was working to restore "normal service as soon as possible" and in an update said that power has now been restored. The latest statement reads: "Manchester Airport was affected by a significant power cut in the early hours of this morning. Power has been restored but the outage affected important systems, including the processing of boarding cards and baggage screening, which has caused significant delays, particularly in Terminals 1 and 2.
"Flights from T1 and T2: Passengers due to travel from Terminals 1 and 2 today are advised not to come to the airport until further notice and to contact their airlines. Flights from T3: Passengers due to fly from Terminal 3 should come to the airport as normal unless advised otherwise by their airline but could be affected by delays. We are working to get passengers already at the airport onto their flights. The disruption caused by the outage means in some instances baggage may not be on those flights. We will work with airlines to make sure passengers are reunited with any baggage that is not on their flight as soon as possible.
People have blasted the airport for the delays with people waiting hours for bags"Arriving passengers: A number of arriving flights are being diverted to other airports so anyone due to pick passengers up from the airport are advised to check before they travel. We apologise for any inconvenience and aim to restore normal service as soon as possible."
One passenger, called Fern said she arrived at 3am from Hurghada in Egypt but it was another six hours before she could leave the airport. She told the Mail: "It was terribly slow movement on the passport control - several machines going down and again, zero staff- had there been a zombie apocalypse whilst we flew the skies?
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"Relief washed over us when we entered the baggage claim area. This was to be short lived. I left baggage claim at 8:45am. A staggering six hours after landing with no communication from any airline staff and only Jet2 reps visible who, whilst very helpful, could only provide so much support to those travelling with other airlines like myself. Absolutely shocking scenes, the trauma is sure to last a lifetime!"
The problem has been caused by a power cutAirline easyJet, which operates flights from terminal one, said there were “very long queues” for security and disruption to hold baggage processing, meaning passengers could board flights only with cabin luggage. It said: “Although outside of our control, we would like to apologise for any inconvenience experienced as a result. We are doing all we can and working closely with the airport team to minimise the disruption.”
Meanwhile, a number of arriving flights were being diverted to other airports. One Singapore Airlines flight arriving from Houston in Texas had to go to London Heathrow while another, which came in from Singapore, was forced to land at London Gatwick.
An Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport was diverted to Birmingham Airport. A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “Following a site-wide power outage at Manchester Airport, baggage systems are currently not operational. Our teams are working closely with the airport authorities and are keeping our customers up to date with the latest information. Virgin Atlantic flights are currently departing but may be subject to minor delays.”
Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director of Manchester Airport has apologised in a video message, saying: “I’ve just stepped away from my incident response team to bring this message. First of all an apology, my sincere apologies, personal apologies to every single passenger who has been impacted by what’s gone on at Manchester airport today.
“There was a big power spike in our electrical system due to a failure early on this morning and it damaged some really key equipment for our departure security and departures baggage systems. So that's meant that terminal one and terminal two have not been able to depart aircraft today.
“As a result we have not had those aircraft be able to land arrivals as there is no space to park those aircraft on the airfield…” He thanked his team for doing a “very difficult job” in “very difficult circumstances.” “I couldn’t be more sorry, “ he finished before adding “the good news” which is they expect to be “back to normal operations tomorrow.’
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