Passengers caught up in the chaos at Manchester Airport yesterday have told how they made it onto their flights just in time - but their bags didn't.
An hour-long power outage at an electricity substation near the airport hit Terminal 3 at around 8am yesterday, causing huge queues at check-in which snaked outside the terminal building.
It caused anger as many passengers missed their flights. Today it emerged that some passengers who managed to get through the queues in time to get on their flights arrived at their destinations only to discover checked-in luggage had not made it with them.
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One couple from Northenden say they may have to book an early flight home because of missing medication while a teacher from Marple admits she may have to attend a family wedding in her jeans and t-shirt.
Carlos Nunns, 52, a taxi driver from Kendal in Cumbria, managed to get on his Ryanair flight to Rhodes with his wife and two children only to learn their suitcase, and all but three of the suitcases of their fellow passengers, hadn't made the flight.
In his suitcase is medication for his daughter's eczema condition, said Carlos.
Speaking from the Greek island, Carlos told the M.E.N: "We get to the airport at 10.30am and there were various queues at check-in to drop our hold bag off, at security and then we had to run to the gate. It took three hours.
"People were panicking. Some people were told 'no, your gate has closed'. Looking at some people you could have wept for them. They had kids with them and that was it, their flight had gone and their holidays were over.
"There wasn't any communication. We were constantly having to go the airport's resillience team to ask what queues we were supposed to be in. There didn't seem to be any prioritising of people who needed to be at check-in sooner than someone in front of them.
"It seemed to be very disorganised. The actual airport workers were doing a great job under a lot of stress but they didn't seem to know what was happening. We saw one guy get arrested and handcuffed and taken away.
"We saw one scuffle. There was a lot of tension. It was a total breakdown in customer service. I just felt it could have been handled better."
He said that after his flight landed in Rhodes, passengers were directed to the lost bags office where they learned only three suitcases had made it onto the plane. His suitcase contained clothes, toiletries and his daughter's medication, he said.
Carlos said: "They loaded all the passengers on the plane knowing full well our cases weren't on the flight. I've contacted Ryanair through their chat service and they've said it can take up to 14 days to sort out."
He said his family had paid £2,700 for the one-week holiday to Rhodes.
Another couple on the same flight are considering taking an early flight home because of medication in their yet-to-arrive luggage.
Jessica Lattimer, a maths tutor, 34, and her partner Joe Kennett, a bank worker, 36, from Northenden, are considering cutting their £2,400 holiday short because medication Joe requires for a testosterone deficiency is among the items in the two suitcases that haven't arrived.
Without the medication, he can suffer insomnia which can spiral into depression, said Jessica.
"If we don't get the medication, we are going to have to book flights home," she said. She said the couple were 'very distressed' when they found out
Another holidaymaker, Dee Greenwood, 52, a teacher from Marple, told the M.E.N. her Ryanair flight to Naples also arrived without any suitcases. She said she was due in Sorrento for the wedding of her nephew and his partner, who have arrived on a different flight.
"I'm here in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. My dress, make-up and hair straighteners are all in the suitcase," she said.
Dee said she had travelled with her 23-year-old daughter Amie Kinsey, who is also missing a suitcase which contains medication for asthma and Crohn's disease.
She added: "It's bad and nobody, not the airport and not Ryanair, is taking ownership."
Asked about the anger around the missing luggage, a spokesperson for Manchester Airport pointed the M.E.N. to a statement released yesterday in which they said: "Shortly before 8am we experienced a power outage at Terminal 3 due to an issue at an external substation that serves the airport.
"Power was restored by around 9am, but some passengers then faced a long wait to check in whilst our airlines recovered their services. We apologise for any inconvenience this caused.
"We deployed colleagues from our customer service and resilience teams to keep passengers informed, making food, water and sun cream available. We would like to thank colleagues for their hard work in trying circumstances. Passengers who faced delays or missed flights are advised to contact their airline about their next steps."
The airport had customer staff on the ground when the problems started yesterday but they struggled to communicate with so many people.
A spokesman for Ryanair said: "Due to the power outage at Manchester Airport yesterday (24 May) some passengers luggage was not loaded on to their flight. Affected passengers have been notified and their luggage is to be shipped on the next available flight.
"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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