Manchester Airport expecting to return to normal operations today

Manchester Airport said it does not expect ‘further disruption’ today (June 24) after thousands of passengers were left stranded yesterday due to a power outage at the site.

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

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

Some incoming 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 scale of the disruption caused by the outage.

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

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

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

Later yesterday afternoon the airport announced that it was in the process of resuming operations and expected flights to restart during the remainder of the afternoon and evening.

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

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

“Flights scheduled for tomorrow (June 24) should be unaffected and passengers due to travel should plan to come to the airport as usual.”

Some passengers were left in darkness at the airport immediately following the power problems, before electricity was restored.

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

He explained there was a “big power spike in our electrical system”, which he attributed to a failure earlier on yesterday morning.

“That’s damaged some really key equipment for our departures security and our departures baggage systems,” he added.

It meant flights from Terminal One and Terminal Two had not been able to take off, leading to issues with arrivals because there was less space for planes to park on the airfield.

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

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

By contrast, Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) was hailed as the second best of the UK’s airports in terms of flight delays.

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

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

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

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