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Manchester Airport is in ‘utter chaos’ today with passengers standing shoulder-to-shoulder in packed terminals after a major power cut left flights facing severe delays or cancellations.
Huge queues formed in Terminals 1 and 2 at Britain’s third busiest airport following the ‘two hour’ outage as passengers grumbled about a ‘total lack of announcements’ about their flights.
Luggage has been chucked on ‘any carousel’ with prams discarded on the floor, according to one person who posted footage of the baggage reclaim area which showed people standing in near darkness as an alarm sounded.
Holidaymakers are warned to contact their airlines before travelling to the airport.
Terminal 3 could also face delays but people should come to the airport as usual unless their airline says otherwise, the airport said.
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The electricity supply went out at around 1.30am but has since been restored, although it will take time to get systems up and running again.
The airport said it is working to get those passengers already at the airport onto flights as soon as possible’.
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In a statement released at 6.30am today, Manchester Airport said: ‘Manchester Airport was affected by a major power cut in the area earlier this morning.
‘This has caused widespread disruption and a significant number of flights, particularly from Terminals 1 and 2, are expected to be delayed or cancelled… we apologise for any inconvenience and aim to restore normal service as soon as possible.’
Travel expert Simon Calder told LBC the systems at the airport are in ‘extreme disarray’.
‘The vast majority of passengers will be using terminals one and two [and] there are crowds of many thousands of people there, they have been there since the early hours,’ he said.
‘No flights are leaving and the latest information I have is that the airport is going to instruct the airlines to cancel a whole swathe of flights for several hours this morning, which will mean people who are on their way to the airport will suddenly find they will get a message saying your flight isn’t going in a bid to recover the operation later today.
‘The vast majority of passengers will be using terminals one and two [and] there are crowds of many thousands of people there, they have been there since the early hours,’ he said.
‘No flights are leaving and the latest information I have is that the airport is going to instruct the airlines to cancel a whole swathe of flights for several hours this morning, which will mean people who are on their way to the airport will suddenly find they will get a message saying your flight isn’t going in a bid to recover the operation later today.
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‘On top of the tens of thousands of people who will be affected by hundreds of cancellations you’ve got an equal of opposite number of people waiting to fly back who are also going to be stranded.
‘All of this is happening at a time when aviation is just getting into a peak season.’
He warned the situation could get ‘very messy’ and people could be waiting ‘several days’ to get to where they needed to be.
Shohaib Siddique posted footage of hundreds of people waiting to get inside the terminal as he wrote on x/ Twitter: ‘Chaos at Manchester airport after power outage 2 hours stood outside the terminal with no idea if we are departing today or not.’
Emily Louise said she had been in a queue for nearly three hours. She wrote: ‘My gate has technically closed & passengers who checked in already their suitcases are still in the check-in area? Organised chaos & no Communication!’
A furious Max Wilkinson branded the airport a ‘shambles’ and called on management to quit.
‘Utter disgrace, the airport should have back up systems / generators for this sort of scenario,’ he wrote on X.
‘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.’
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MailOnline has contacted Manchester Airport for further comment.
Passengers at nearby Birmingham Airport have also faced travel misery for weeks as they wait in queues for hours amid confusion over the security’s liquid policy.
On Thursday scores of holidaymakers took to social media to share their experience, describing two-hour queues as ‘appalling’ and ‘ridiculous’, while another traveller said the ‘non-express queues are insane’.
Physical changes to the security area, which should allow for new technology required to relax the 100ml rule, mean passengers are now queuing on the ground floor and, at busy times, even outside of the airport.
The Government had announced that the 100ml rule would be scrapped in time for summer, meaning holidaymakers could take larger bottles of liquids in hand luggage for the first time in years.
But this has now been delayed, causing chaos at airports across the UK and confusion for passengers.
New ‘liquid check’ stations have been rolled out at the airport in a bid to cut the time wasted at security by those confused by the changes to hand luggage rules.
Airport bosses have also said they are in the process of hiring a further 100 staff to help combat the lengthy queues faced by travellers.