A woman from Oldham has told of her and her husband's experience after being caught in the aftermath of a power cut at Manchester Airport. 

Joanne Godfrey, from Shaw, was due to fly to Naples with her husband on Sunday, June 23, when Manchester Airport was hit with a power cut.

The couple woke up at around 4am, with a taxi coming to collect them at 5.15am but received a warning text from Jet2Holidays, who they had booked with, at around 4.45am. 

The message explained that there were delays occurring at Manchester Airport due to a power cut, but didn't mention cancellations.

So, they headed to the airport as normal and found a queue that snaked outside of the departures check in hall at terminal one and went all the way around the building.

She said: "As we were following the queue round, it was just never ending- I kept saying to my husband 'Where's the end of the queue?' and as it backed up, they were having to snake because there wasn't enough room to queue.

"It wasn't marked off so you knew where to queue, people were just randomly snaking and coming back on themselves."

At 6.30am Manchester Airport posted to X, formerly Twitter, saying they had been affected by a major power outage and informed passengers to contact their airlines before travelling and flights were likely to be delayed or cancelled.

They then issued an update at 7.45am which stated that power had been restored and that flights were likely to be cancelled as well as assuring their customer service and resilience teams were working to keep passengers updated. 

 

However, Joanne said there was poor communication throughout the experience. 

She said: "What was so frustrating was the sheer lack of communication. 

"Every so often- it was very infrequent, a message would come over the tannoy and all it said was 'Manchester Airport wishes to apologise for the inconvenience due to a power outage.'

"And that was it. That's all we got, we didn't get an explanation of why there was a power outage or what was being done about it.

"Nothing, that was all it was, and that message came about every hour.

"A couple of times, a Jet2 representative would come round the queue and shout flights, but that only happened three times in the seven hours we were there."

Joanne managed to get into the departures hall eventually, which she said was an 'alarming eye opener'.

She said that there were 'mountains' of luggage piled up behind cordoned areas with the flight numbers written on the barrier tape. 

Some of the luggage piled up at terminal oneSome of the luggage piled up at terminal one (Image: Joanne Godfrey)

However, she said the flights on the tape had left already, meaning those who had managed to fly had done so without their luggage.

Also, Joanne said there wasn't anybody keeping an eye on the luggage, which she said worried her in case someone was to take them.

Joanne and her husband had their larger, hold luggage as well as a smaller cabin suitcase with them and after realising they would likely not have their luggage, they began to move essential items into the cabin bag. 

Many people began to do the same, in order to prioritise their most important items first.

Joanne said this was a futile exercise in the end as her flight and holiday were later cancelled.

At around 1pm, Joanne received an email which stated her flight had been rescheduled.

Joanne began to re-arrange her suitcases and carry-on luggage to prioritise important itemsJoanne began to re-arrange her suitcases and carry-on luggage to prioritise important items (Image: Joanne Godfrey)

The email told Joanne she was to leave the airport as soon as possible and return for her rearranged flight and so she travelled home on the tram. 

By the time she had arrived at Shaw Metrolink station, at around 2pm, another email was received stating her flight, holiday and affiliated trips were now cancelled altogether.

Joanne says that while she is disappointed, she considers herself and her husband 'the lucky ones' as she says that going away without their luggage would make her anxious.

Despite the holiday being cancelled, Joanne then received a phone call while shopping from Jet2Holidays.

Queues at Manchester Airport check ins Queues at Manchester Airport check ins (Image: Joanne Godfrey)

The woman on the phone began to explain to Joanne that their day trip to Amalfi, which should have been the next day, was going to be affected by roadworks and that the tour would miss a section. 

It seemed that they were still down to be attending their excursions, despite the entire holiday having been cancelled. 

Joanne said: "I was thinking 'Who's not communicating here then?' It was just unbelievable."

She had been paying for her shopping when the call came through, and the person serving her told Joanne they also had a friend who was affected by the trouble at the airport, but said their flight and holiday had been rearranged and she had flown the next day.

Jet2Holidays has been contacted for comment.

Joanne said: "I still do consider us quite lucky, to go away for a week/10 days without luggage must just be awful.

(Image: Joanne Godfrey)

"It would have been nice to have had somebody senior or just something more than the tannoy message.

"There was no thought of the passengers.

"I'm going to travel differently now, and make sure I have the carry on packed with essentials so that if worst comes to worst, we can manage.

"I'm a bit glad they didn't reschedule, I've had my fill of Manchester Airport for a while I think."

A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: "Airlines are re-arranging flights for all their passengers and will be in touch with the couple in question. 

"We'll be posting an updated statement on Twitter/X soon.

"We're obviously incredibly sorry for the inconvenience this has caused."

They added: "Airlines' ground handling teams have been managing the luggage that did not make it onto flights and always ensure that it is absolutely safe and secure.

"The majority of the luggage that did not make it onto flights on Sunday has either made it to its owner or is in the process of getting there.

"We are sorry for the inconvenience Sunday's power outage caused and have been working closely with airlines, their appointed ground handling teams and other partners to ensure all passengers are reunited with their bags as soon as possible."