Passengers have been urged to avoid Manchester Airport following a “major” power cut that has caused widespread flight disruptions.
The outage, which occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, has led to long queues and numerous flight cancellations at Terminals 1 and 2, with further disruptions anticipated throughout the day. Some arriving flights have been diverted to other airports.
While passengers travelling through Terminal 3 are advised to proceed as normal, they may still encounter delays, according to an airport spokesperson. Efforts are being prioritised to manage the backlog of passengers already at the airport.
The power cut, described as having “literally knocked everything off” by an airport source, also impacted other nearby businesses, including major logistics firms.
Bobbi Hadgraft, a traveller heading to Euro 2024, reported seeing “enormous queues” upon arriving at Terminal 1 around 04:00 BST. She described the scene as chaotic, with display boards and scanners down, forcing staff to manually direct passengers.
Social media has been flooded with complaints about lengthy queues for check-in and passport control, and a lack of communication from staff amidst the chaos. Images and videos show passengers waiting in near darkness.
The airport confirmed that its electricity supply was interrupted at approximately 01:30 but has since been restored. However, it will take time for all systems to be fully operational again.
This incident comes at the start of the summer holiday season, underscoring the significant impact on travellers at the UK’s third-busiest airport.