Ryanair passengers watched on as their flights took off without them as a power outage caused chaos at Manchester Airport.
Terminal 3 was hit by a power cut at 8am on Wednesday, May 24, and "stranded" passengers complained of issues checking in, boarding and being stuck in long queues.
Pictures from inside and outside of the terminal showed huge queues and throngs of people as passengers claimed their flights "took off without them." Some Ryanair passengers had arrived three hours before their flights to Tenerife but still missed it as they were trying to check their luggage in.
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Others described the scene inside as "chaos" and claimed that Ryanair instructed passengers to come back tomorrow, Manchester Evening News reports.
Megan tweeted: "@askryanair @Ryanair @manairport @MENnewsdesk supposed to fly to Tenerife at 10am. Got here at 7am &waited for desk to open.
"Power cut at airport so stuck trying to check luggage in. Plane has gone. What are we supposed to do? Nobody has come to advise us. It’s my birthday today!"
Tom McKenna said: "Absolute chaos down at @manairport just seen my Ryanair flight fly over my head as I'm queuing outside terminal 3.
"Utter disgrace…should be ashamed of themselves."
Laura Marie tweeted: "Stood at T3 bag check in since 7:30am, hundreds of people stranded, no-one in charge letting us know what is going on, flight has already left @Ryanair can someone actually help please?"
She then added: "@Ryanair have told us no more flights today and we have to come back tomorrow. We have had to book new flights and a hotel which comes at additional expense we should not have to pay.
"I fully appreciate this is not anyone's fault but some communication would help."
Kate Vaudrey said: "Absolute shambles this morning. None of the ground staff were prioritising check in based on flight times.
"Only 2 members of staff available for baggage drop off. 80 passengers missed our Ryanair flight this morning."
In the latest update, the airport said some passengers may be facing longer waiting times but that staff were doing everything they could to ease disruption. The airport apologised for inconvenience caused by the power outage, which was due to a fault at an external substation and has since been resolved.
The latest update posted on the official Manchester Airport Twitter account said: "The power outage that affected Terminal 3 shortly before 8am has been resolved and we are working to return services to normal. We are aware this means some passengers are facing long waiting times than usual as our airlines recover their check-in processes and we apologise or any inconvenience.
"Passengers are advised to check with their airline for the most up-to-date flight information."
Ryanair said the issue "was entirely beyond" the airline's control as they also apologised for disruption. In a statement, a Ryanair spokesperson said: "Due to a power outage at Manchester Airport, which was entirely beyond Ryanair’s control, some passengers missed their flights from Manchester Airport this morning (24 May).
"Where possible, we have reaccommodated affected passengers on alternative Ryanair flights departing later today and where alternative flights are not available today, we advise passengers to contact our Customer Service Team. We sincerely apologise to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of this power outage at Manchester Airport, which was entirely beyond Ryanair’s control."
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