Manchester Airport is expected to return to normal operations today

Manchester Airport said it did not expect “further disruption” today (June 24) after thousands of passengers were stranded yesterday due to a power cut at the site.

It led to chaos, with no flights departing from Terminals One and Two and huge disruptions to the airport’s baggage handling systems.

Passengers were warned that if flights were able to depart, their luggage might not be on board, although the airport said it would do its best to get customers’ luggage to them on arrival as soon as possible.

Some arriving flights had to be diverted to other airports as problems continued throughout the day.

At one point, passengers were warned not to turn up due to the extent of the disruption caused by the outage.

Jet2.com, a major customer of the airport, announced on X, formerly Twitter, yesterday afternoon that it had “regrettably” canceled all remaining flights for the day.

It said it had contacted all affected customers to let them know their options and that they would receive a full refund if they wanted.

The carrier said: “We are extremely sorry to have to make this decision, however the disruption has left us with no choice.”

Later yesterday afternoon, the airport said it was resuming operations and expected flights to resume for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

However, it warned: “It remains important that passengers check with their airlines before traveling to the airport.”

It added: “We are also working closely with airlines to reschedule canceled flights in the coming days.

“Flights scheduled for tomorrow (June 24) should not be affected and passengers due to travel should plan to arrive at the airport as usual.”

Some passengers were left in the dark at the airport immediately after the power outages, before power was restored.

Manchester Airport chief executive Chris Woodroofe posted a video yesterday afternoon apologizing for the chaos. He issued a “sincere” and “personal” apology to all those affected.

He explained that there was a “big bit of power in our electrical system”, which he attributed to a fault earlier yesterday morning.

“This has damaged some key equipment for the security of our departures and our baggage systems at departures,” he added.

It meant that flights from Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 were unable to take off, leading to problems with arrivals as there was less space for planes to park at the airfield.

“It’s a very difficult situation, I couldn’t regret it more,” he said, adding that operations were expected to be “back to normal” by tomorrow.

In April this year, Manchester Airport was named the third worst airport in the UK for flight delays.

By contrast, Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) was hailed as the second best airport in the UK for flight delays.

A survey by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Press Association assessed 22 UK airports.

The roll call puts Gatwick at the top of the rankings, with average delays of up to 26 minutes and 54 seconds.

Luton Airport was second (22 minutes 54 seconds), followed by Manchester (21 minutes 54 seconds).

The other two Manchester Airports Group airports, Stansted and East Midlands, were placed 11th and 20th respectively, with delays of 19 minutes and six seconds and 15 minutes and 18 seconds respectively.