MORE “chaos” has struck Manchester Airport today with passengers complaining of “two-hour queues” at bag drop.
Holidaymakers have continued to feel the effects after a major power cut yesterday which saw all flights from Terminals 1 and 2 cancelled.
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The outage sparked horrendous delays as furious passengers were unable to check in.
Meanwhile a sea of luggage sat unclaimed as arriving planes sat on the tarmac for hours.
Flyers described the hectic scenes as a “minefield” to The Sun as travellers scrambled to save their holidays.
Manchester airport is still chaos – been in a queue for 90 minutes just to get into bag drop
Scathing passenger
Hundreds of suitcases were also dumped at abandoned check-in areas as conveyorbelts and computers had stopped working.
By the afternoon, a quarter of all flights failed to take off as a result of the power cut, according to figures.
According to aviation analytics company Cirium, 66 outbound flights, 25 per cent of all departures, and 50 inbound journey, 18 per cent of all arrivals, were axed.
Some passengers who had manged to jet off as disaster struck, were still left without their luggage after landing at their destination.
The disruption yesterday meant a number of arriving flights were even diverted to other airports.
One Singapore Airlines flight arriving from Houston in Texas had to go to London Heathrow while another, which came in from Singapore, was forced to land at London Gatwick.
An Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport was diverted to Birmingham Airport
Airport apology
MANCHESTER Airport’s Managing Director Chris Woodroofe issued an apology yesterday
Mr Woodroofe said: “First of all an apology, my sincere, personal apologies to every single passenger who has been impacted by what has gone on at Manchester Airport today.
He explained there was a “big power spike in our electrical system” that “damaged some really key equipment for our departures security and out departures baggage system”.
“So that’s meant terminal one and terminal two haven’t been able to depart aircraft today and as a result we haven’t been able to have those aircraft land either as arrivals as there is no space to park those aircraft on the airfield,” he added.
He continued: “We are working very closely with our airlines to seek to recover the operation and understand what passengers can be re-booked on to future flights.”
Mr Woodroofe said he “couldn’t be more sorry” for the “very difficult situation”.
“The good news is we very much expect this to be recovered over the afternoon and evening so we are back to normal operations tomorrow,” added the Managing Director
The latest update from Manchester Airport was issued this morning at 9am.
A spokesperson said: “Normal operations have resumed at Manchester Airport.
“All our systems are running as normal today, so passengers at advised to prepare to travel as usual from Manchester Airport.
“That means going online to check the status of your flight before you leave then following your airline’s instructions in terms of when to arrive at the airport – usually two hours for short-haul and three hours for long haul.
“The airport is likely to be slightly busier than usual due to passengers affected by cancellations yesterday but we have extra staff in place and our resilience team is helping out.”
But holidaymakers at the airport this morning have reported “worse” delays than yesterday.
‘TWO HOURS TO DROP BAGS’
While the airport insists there are no excessive queues, some passengers claimed they were waiting for up to two hours to drop off their bags this morning.
A raging traveller wrote on X/formerly Twitter at 6.20am: “Manchester Airport remains the worst airport in the world. Two hours to drop bags and go through security; what a sh**show.”
Another fuming passenger said at 4.50am: “Manchester airport is still chaos – been in a queue for 90 minutes just to get into bag drop.”
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“Hope you’re watching Manchester airport again today…. It’s already turning out to be worse than yesterday! And I’m still not where I’m meant to be,” added someone else navigating the chaos at 3.10am.
A fourth claimed: “Family flew to Palma yesterday from Manchester told could take five days to get cases delivered to them.”
‘FEELING HOPEFUL’
Meanwhile, others have claimed the airport does seem to have worked through the backlog from yesterday.
One passenger said: “Credit where it is due @manairport at T2 after yesterday. Through Jet2 bag check-in and security within 15 minutes today.”
“Off to Manchester Airport again today. I’m feeling hopeful that today we will actually get away,” added another.
Someone else agreed: “Finally arrived back in Manchester Airport and thankfully was through security and bags back in no time.”
‘RUNNING AS NORMAL’
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport told The Sun there were no “excessive queues today” and “things are running as normal”.
“The airport is slightly busier than usual due to yesterday’s cancellations and a small number of residual delays but everything is running as it should be and our advice to passengers expecting to travel today is as it always is – to check the status of your flight before you leave and then follow your airline’s instructions as to when to arrive – usually two hours early for a short haul flight and three for a long haul flight.”
They also advised passengers not to arrive at the airport too early as this can spark longer queues.
In a message to passengers, Jet2.com said: “Some flights departed with reduced or no luggage as we were unable to load bags on to 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.
“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.”
Yesterday travellers fumed as their saw their holiday plans squashed.
Flight compensation rules
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed?
Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late.
If you’re flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight.
You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven’t used yet.
So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded.
But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline.
When am I not entitled to compensation?
The airline doesn’t have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather.
Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are not eligible for compensation.
Some airlines may stretch the definition of the “extraordinary circumstances” but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Will my insurance cover me if my flight is cancelled?
If you can’t claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you.
Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer.
Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof.
If your flight is cancelled entirely, you’re unlikely to be covered by your insurance.
Ian Ellison, 42, told The Sun the airport was “absolute chaos” after their flight was stuck on the tarmac for two hours.
The Chester man had returned from a lovely 10 day holiday to Paphos, Cyprus, with his wife and five-year-old son.
Their plane arrived at terminal one at 2.50am, but passengers weren’t allowed off the plane and became increasingly agitated with children on the flight “kicking off”.
He said: “The captain on the plane said he’s never experienced something like that.”
After finally catching a bus to Terminal 2 at around 5am, Ian said there was a smooth pass through immigration – only find chaos on the other side.
“It was like a minefield walking through Terminal 2.
“Bags were absolutely everywhere with nobody to tell us which belt was where… it was utter chaos.”
Another holidaymaker, who had managed to jet off as chaos hit wrote on X/formerly Twitter: “We have just arrived in Menorca from Manchester. No luggage made it on to our flight due to the problems at Manchester Airport.
“We have nothing except the clothes we are wearing.”
Fellow passenger Aaron posted: “We’ve been stood for over an hour and a half in the same spot.
“We’re still being told that ‘Normal services will resume ASAP’ – our flight leaves at 7.10am.”
And Chris added: “Landed at 1am and still waiting on bags, it’s been disgraceful from all involved.”
Another traveller agreed: “An update on what’s being done to get this mess resolved ASAP would be more useful than apologising for any inconvenience.
“People have been stuck for hours now, everyone in T1 is being very patient but they’re increasingly angry and fed up.”
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