A reported power cut at Manchester Airport’s Terminal 3 appears to have sparked chaos at passport control gates as the airport confirms they are facing ‘technical issues’
A reported power cut at one of the UK’s busiest airports has sparked chaos this evening, as passengers have reported issues at passport control owing to ongoing “technical issues” this evening.
Passengers at Manchester Airport have taken to X to report a power cut in Terminal 3 which has affected people’s journeys. In a statement on X, the airport said: “We’re aware of a technical issue affecting some systems in Terminal 3 this evening. Flight are not affected. We are working to fix the issue as soon as possible and apologise for any inconvenience. Our customer services and resilience teams are on hand to assist passengers.”
Have you been affected by the power outage? Email [email protected]
A spokesman for the airport added: “It’s affecting a relatively small area of T3 but that does include immigration and it is slowing down passport control.”
Although the airport claimed no flights were affected, many on social media claimed their flights had been hit by issues caused by the power cut. One replied: “I think flights are affected though as the first officer and crew came out of the plane to tell us we’re delayed as we’re waiting for someone from the power company to come…”
Another person replied saying: “We’re sat on a plane with no fuel and have been told incoming flights are diverted. Definitely affected.”
Another said: “We too are sat on a plane… fastened to a jetty that cannot be released without power.”
One person hit out the the airport’s statement: “Most staff have gone awol. There’s very few staff, resilience or otherwise to be seen. Assuming there is going to be massive delays and cancellation. Planes are all sitting idle with passengers aboard. The least travellers can expect is a bit of honesty.”
Last month Manchester Airport was named the UK’s third worst for flight delays, behind Gatwick (first) and Birmingham (second), according to an analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data. Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of Advantage Travel Partnership—a consortium of independent travel agents, said: “Passengers expect and deserve not to spend hours stuck in terminals with little information or support. Reliable service, clear communication and efficient operations should be the standard, not the exception, and airports must take this responsibility seriously.
“This summer is set to be exceptionally busy, therefore it is essential airports and airlines do all they can to ensure consumer confidence to travel remains high.”
At the other end of the scale, Belfast City (George Best) airport topped the charts for punctuality in the UK, boasting an average flight delay of less than 12 minutes. This impressive feat was highlighted in an analysis of both scheduled and chartered flights from the 22 commercial UK airports with at least 1,000 departures last year.
The overall average delay across these flights in the past year clocked in at 18 minutes and 24 seconds, showing a slight improvement from the 20 minutes and 42 seconds average in 2023.