Manchester Airport is expected to return to normal operations today after a major power outage on Sunday caused chaos among passengers.
The outage, which hit the airport in the early hours of yesterday (June 23), disrupted the travel plans of thousands of passengers, with flights from Terminals 1 and 2 cancelled “until further notice”. Passengers were told to stay away due to the widespread disruption.
Power was later restored, but baggage and security systems were affected throughout the day, leaving thousands of people facing delays and cancellations. Passengers also faced “very long queues” at security, and images showed huge piles of luggage piling up.
CONTINUE READING: Manchester Airport power outage: what went wrong?
Although the airport’s emergency generator kicked in when the main system failed, the situation was further complicated by the fact that the power went out and then came back on several times. Like restarting a computer that was not turned off properly, restoring normal operation proved difficult.
Manchester Airport chief executive Chris Woodroofe said there had been a “major power surge” due to a “failure” in the airport’s power network. “This damaged some really important equipment for our departure security and baggage systems,” he added.
He expressed his “sincere apologies” to those affected at the airport. “It is a very difficult situation, I am incredibly sorry,” he said.
In the latest update, posted at around 9pm last night, the official Manchester Airport X account said that the flight schedule from the airport was “expected to operate normally” today, but passengers should still check the status of their flight before travelling.
The airport added that airlines will be in touch with passengers to rebook the cancelled flights and that baggage agents will endeavour to ensure that baggage that does not arrive on flights is returned to passengers as soon as possible. The post said: “We would like to apologise to everyone affected by the disruption in Terminals 1 and 2 today.”
“[Monday’s] The flight schedule is expected to run as normal, with check-in taking place two hours before departure for short-haul flights and three hours for long-haul flights. It is always advisable to check the status of your flight before heading to the airport.
“Airlines will contact passengers to rebook cancelled flights. We are working with airlines, their baggage handling agents and other partners to ensure that passengers whose luggage did not make it onto their flight receive their luggage back as quickly as possible.
“We thank passengers for their patience today and would also like to thank all our employees, airlines and external partners for their hard work and resilience.”
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06:59Ashlie Blakey
“Check-in and security checks in 15 minutes this morning”
This passenger said that everything went smoothly at Jet2’s check-in desks this morning.
They were through bag and security checks within 15 minutes.
06:55Ashlie Blakey
What went wrong at the airport yesterday?
Although the airport’s emergency generator kicked in when the main system failed, the situation was complicated by several power outages and then restorations.
It was like restarting a computer that hadn’t been turned off properly, and it proved difficult to get it back to normal.
The airport is the size of a small town and has virtually its own power supply, separate from that of surrounding areas such as Wythenshawe and Styal.
That supply failed but was then restored. The renewed power surge – which airport officials said may have occurred more than once – damaged the physical infrastructure.
The combination of power outages and damaged infrastructure hampered engineers’ efforts to get the airport back up and running.
You can read the full story of what went wrong here.
06:44Ashlie Blakey
Update from Manchester Airport last night at 9pm
This was the latest update from Manchester Airport at 9pm last night.
Bosses said today’s schedule was “expected to run as normal and without further disruption”.