A quarter of all flights from Manchester Airport were cancelled after a “major power cut” which also caused huge queues and disruption to baggage processing, analysts have said.
The outage, which hit systems in the early hours of Sunday, meant by lunchtime 66 outbound flights (25 per cent of all departures) and 50 inbound journey (18 per cent of all arrivals) were axed, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
In a social media post, the airport had said no flights were departing from terminals one and two, advising passengers not to go there.
Those due to fly from terminal three were told to go to the airport as normal, unless advised otherwise by their airline, after some earlier departures were delayed.
There were instances where some people’s baggage was not on flights.
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.
The airline, which had the largest number of cancellations, 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.
ℹ️ 23.06.24 - 3:15pm
Information for passengers travelling from Manchester Airport today.
If you have been affected by the disruption and need to adjust your travel arrangements, please visit our website ➡️ https://t.co/4IIJHDpm0n pic.twitter.com/4oXkIxXg9M— Manchester Airport (@manairport) June 23, 2024
Among those caught up in the disruption was Samuel Martin, 27, a student at the University of Sheffield, and his friend Matthew O’Brien, 27, an operations manager, whose flight to Manchester Airport from New Zealand via Singapore was diverted to Heathrow.
Mr Martin, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, said: “We had someone driving to come and pick us up from Manchester Airport who had to turn around and go home.”
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.”
At just after 3pm, the airport said it was in the process of resuming operations, saying flights on Monday “should be unaffected”.
It apologised for any inconvenience caused.
