Yahoo News Manchester Airport issues update to passengers after power outage caused chaos and cancelled flights
Manchester Airport has issued an update to passengers after a power cut caused chaos yesterday (Sunday, June 23).
In an updated statement, the airport said 'all systems are working as normal', advising that the airport is 'slightly busier' than usual and to check online for the status of particular flights.
It has advised holidaymakers to stay in touch with airlines if their luggage did not make it onto their flights, adding that many were placed on the flights last night and today and have been reunited with their owners.
This comes after several flights from, both Terminal 1 and 2 were cancelled for several hours due to the power cut, which occurred in the early hours.
According to flight data analysts Cirium, 66 departures were cancelled from Manchester Airport by 1pm on Sunday, with 50 inbound flights also cancelled. It led to huge queues in the airport and a backlog of luggage as the baggage systems failed.
In an update issued this afternoon, a spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: "Manchester Airport has been operating smoothly today, with all systems working as normal and no ongoing issues following yesterday's power outage.
"As always, passengers due to fly from Manchester should go online to check the status of their flight before travelling and follow their airline's instructions on when to arrive at the airport - usually two hours in advance of a short-haul flight and three hours ahead of a long-haul flight.
"The airport is slightly busier than usual as airlines get passengers impacted by the disruption onto new flights. This is likely to be the case over the coming days. We have extra staff in place to help our passengers.
"Passengers who's bags did not make it onto flights yesterday are advised to stay in contact with their airlines. We are working with airlines, their ground handling agents and other partners to get those bags out to passengers as soon as possible. Many were placed on flights last night and today and have already been reunited with their owners.
"Once again, we would like to thank passengers for their patience. We would also like to thank our staff as well as our partners around the airport for their hard work."
Chris Woodroofe, Manchester Airport's managing director, apologised for the disruption and said that there had been a “big power spike” in the airport's electrical system due to “a failure”. He said: "It's a very difficult situation, I couldn't be more sorry.”
The power outage meant that some flights left without luggage as the baggage system was unable to operate. This morning Jet2 has assured passengers that they will do “everything they can” to get any bags to their final destination “as soon as possible”.
In a statement on its website the airline said: "Due to the outage, some flights departed with reduced or no luggage as we were unable to load bags onto our aircraft, as the baggage system at the airport was inoperable during the outage. Please be advised that our UK-based Ground Operations Team will work hard to ensure that we get your baggage to you, as soon as we can, as you can appreciate this may take some time and we will endeavour to be in contact with you by the end of the day on Monday 24th June 2024.
“We understand how frustrating this situation must be and although the situation was beyond our control we will do everything we can to get all luggage to its final destination as soon as we possibly can. “
It advised passengers that they would be updated via SMS and email. The airline added: “We apologise once again for any inconvenience this is causing. “
