Travel hell at Manchester Airport after a ‘two-hour’ power cut sparked chaos – with passengers left in the dark and stuck in huge queues with fears of mass flight delays

Manchester Airport is in “total chaos” today with passengers standing shoulder-to-shoulder in packed terminals after a major power outage left flights facing serious delays or cancellations.

Huge queues formed in Terminals 1 and 2 at the UK’s third-busiest airport following the “two-hour” disruption, as passengers grumbled about the “complete lack of announcements” about their flights .

Luggage was dumped on “every carousel”, with trolleys dumped on the floor, according to one person who posted images of the baggage claim area, which showed people standing in the dark as an alarm sounded.

Tourists are advised to contact their airlines before traveling to the airport.

Terminal 3 may also experience delays, but people should come to the airport as usual unless their airline says otherwise, the airport said.

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Manchester Airport is in “total chaos” today with passengers standing shoulder-to-shoulder after a major power cut caused all flights to face severe delays or cancellations.

The “two-hour” disruption caused chaos in Terminals 1 and 2 as tourists are warned to contact their airlines before traveling to the airport.

Huge queues formed in terminals as passengers grumbled about the “complete lack of announcements” about their flights

Power 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 to take flights as soon as possible.”

In a statement released at 6.30am today, Manchester Airport said: “Manchester Airport was affected by a major power outage 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 apologize for any inconvenience and aim to restore normal service as soon as possible.” as soon as possible.”

Travel expert Simon Calder told LBC that the systems at the airport were 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’ve been there since the early hours,” he said.

“No flights are leaving and the latest information I have is that the airport will be asking airlines to cancel a whole host of flights for several hours this morning, which will mean that people heading to the airport will suddenly find that will receive a message saying your flight will not go in an attempt to recover the operation later today.

The power supply went out around 1.30am, leaving passengers stranded in the dark.

‘What kind of hell on earth is this airport?’: Stranded passengers endure ‘chaos’ at Manchester Airport

The airport apologized for any inconvenience as it explained there had been widespread disruption and a significant number of flights, particularly from Terminals 1 and 2, were expected to be delayed or cancelled.

“The vast majority of passengers will be using terminals one and two (and) there are crowds of many thousands of people there, they’ve been there since the early hours,” he said.

“No flights are leaving and the latest information I have is that the airport will be asking airlines to cancel a whole host of flights for several hours this morning, which will mean that people heading to the airport will suddenly find that will receive a message saying your flight will not go in an attempt to recover the operation later today.

“In addition to the tens of thousands of people who will be affected by hundreds of cancellations, you have an equal opposite number of people waiting to fly back who will also be stranded.

“All this is happening at a time when aviation is just entering a peak season.”

He warned that the situation could become “very messy” and people could wait “a few days” to get where they need to be.

Shohaib Siddique posted images of hundreds of people waiting to enter the terminal, writing on x/ Twitter: “Chaos at Manchester airport after power cut, stood outside terminal for 2 hours, no idea if we are leaving today or not”.

Emily Louise said she waited in line for almost three hours. She wrote: “My gate has technically closed and passengers who have already checked in their bags are still in the check-in area? Organized chaos and no communication!’

Hundreds of people were pictured outside waiting to get into the airport and say they don’t know if their flight will leave today.

Furious Max Wilkinson branded the airport a “disappointment” and called on management to quit.

“Total shame, airport should have backup systems/generators for this type of scenario,” he wrote on X.

‘Expect the unexpected. Overall, this airport is a disaster and needs major investment. I don’t see how a power outage causes a toilet block on T1. Management should resign.

MailOnline has contacted Manchester Airport for further comment.

Passengers at nearby Birmingham Airport have also faced travel problems for weeks as they wait in queues for hours amid confusion over the fluid security policy.

Dozens of tourists took to social media on Thursday to share their experience, describing the two-hour queues as “horrendous” and “ridiculous”, while another traveler said the “non-express queues are crazy”. .

Physical changes to the security area, which are supposed to allow for the new technology needed to relax the 100ml rule, mean passengers are now queuing on the ground floor and, at peak times, even outside the airport.

The government had announced that the 100ml rule would be scrapped in time for summer, meaning tourists could take larger bottles of liquid in their hand luggage for the first time in years.

But this has now been delayed, causing chaos at UK airports and confusion for passengers.

New “liquid control” stations have been installed at the airport in a bid to reduce time spent at security by those confused by changes to hand luggage rules.

Airport bosses also said they were in the process of hiring a further 100 staff to help tackle the long queues travelers are facing.