Manchester Airport: Grounded flights rearranged after power cut

Some travelers whose trip schedules were disrupted by a power outage at Manchester Airport may experience additional wait times as airlines reschedule cancelled flights.

Airport officials stated that all flights planned for Monday are anticipated to operate normally.

However, airlines promised to contact passengers whose flights were cancelled on Sunday.

Over 90,000 individuals experienced disruptions due to the power outage impacting security and baggage screening at the airport. The airport issued an apology for the inconvenience caused.

Based on the real-time flight information for Manchester, it showed multiple flights facing delays of over an hour. One of the affected flights was the 07:30 BST flight to Ibiza, which was rescheduled to depart at 08:30.

A plane going to Bourgas, Bulgaria was supposed to leave at 06:05, but it didn't take off until 09:41.

Travel specialist Simon Calder informed BBC 5Live that the events on Sunday could have a significant effect on the aviation industry by eroding trust.

He mentioned that there will be individuals who, upon seeing the challenges and uncertainties involved, may choose not to participate.

This will impact the operations of an airport and could have a broader impact on the aviation industry as a whole.

Mr. Calder expressed that the industry is very competitive, and Manchester could potentially miss out to other airports.

"If folks are talking at the pub and mention that they had a good experience using Liverpool John Lennon Airport - saying it was not crowded and that it worked well - then there could be a group of people deciding to switch from using Manchester Airport to another airport."

Since early Sunday morning, flights leaving the airport were stopped and incoming flights were redirected to different airports in the UK.

According to data from Cirium, by the time lunch rolled around, a total of 66 flights departing from the airport had been cancelled, which accounted for 25% of all scheduled departures. Additionally, 50 inbound flights had also been cancelled, making up 18% of all scheduled arrivals.

Around 7:30 PM British Summer Time, airport officials announced that flights had started again and promised to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.

Travelers whose flights got canceled called the scene at the airport "disorderly", and pictures posted on social networks displayed extensive lines and halted baggage carousels overflowing with luggage.

There have been complaints about some travelers' luggage not being placed on airplanes.

Kelvin Knaver, a resident of St Helens, was supposed to travel to Amsterdam with EasyJet.

He shared with BBC North West Tonight: "It's been chaotic. There are so many cases piled up that it will take a very long time to resolve."

EasyJet experienced the highest number of flight cancellations. The airline explained that the delays were beyond their control and that they were working hard to reduce the negative effects of the disruptions.

One flight from Houston, Texas operated by Singapore Airlines was redirected to London Heathrow, while another flight originating from Singapore had to make an unscheduled stop at London Gatwick.

An Etihad Airways plane traveling from Abu Dhabi had to make an emergency landing at Birmingham Airport.

Chris Woodroofe, the person in charge of Manchester Airport, apologized for the delays and reassured that employees were working hard to prevent any further disruptions in the following days.

The problem happened because of an issue with a cable at the airport, which led to a sudden increase in power throughout the electrical system, he explained.