Flights hit by power cut at Edinburgh Airport

One of Britain's busiest airports came to a standstill on Wednesday morning after a power cut left thousands of travellers facing disruption to their travel plans.

Travellers at Edinburgh Airport used lights on their mobile phones and took to social media to complain about a lack of information, and a lack of working lavatories.

Power was lost in the terminal about 9am, causing delays to check-ins and flights and long queues inside and outside the building.

Emergency lighting came on during the power cut and the airport tweeted that engineers were working hard to restore electricity. Around an hour later they said power was beginning to come back.

A spokesman for the airport said: "We can confirm that power is now returning to the terminal and that flights have resumed.

"We're working to allow passengers to continue their journeys in a safe and ordered manner, and we thank passengers for their patience whilst we do this.

"As always, the safety of passengers and staff is our priority. We expect there to be further delays whilst we clear the backlog."

The airport is the sixth busiest in the UK, handling more than 12 million passengers a year. Earlier this month, the airport was ranked the fifth worst in the world for waiting times, quality and service

Eleanor Shaw, a frustrated customer who took to social media, said: "Folks now getting agitated. No communication, no explanation. Not everyone on internet. No staff walking round explaining and reassuring."

One Twitter user asked the airport: "How safe and secure is an airport with no backup power?"

The airport sought to assure customers that the safety of passengers and staff was its main priority.