An IT meltdown has caused a number of flights to be delayed at a major UK airport this morning.
Stansted Airport was ‘utter carnage’ after their IT system reported ‘issues’ at 6am bringing operations to a standstill.
Holidaymakers were forced to queue for hours after the wave of disruption caused issues for passengers progressing through check-in, baggage and security.
Although airport authorities say the issue has been resolved delays are still affecting passengers.
Anne Alexander, who has been stuck at Stansted since 6.30am told MailOnline that over 150 people are queuing to leave the airport having missed their flights.
Ms Alexander, 53, was meant to be jet-setting to Palermo, Italy.
She said: ‘My flight was at 8.35 and so I got here at 6.30 and when I got into the terminal it was absolutely crowded and it was like the Walking Dead and when I looked outside I saw people queuing.
‘I thought I would be okay but it was so slow to even get to security I was in the queue for security 10 minutes before my flight was meant to go.
An IT meltdown has caused a number of flights to be delayed at a major UK airport this morning
Anne Alexander, who has been stuck at Stansted since 6.30am told MailOnline that over 150 people are queuing to leave the airport having missed their flights
Stansted airport released a statement explaining that the issue has now been resolved
‘I got through five minutes before my flight was due to leave, I got to my gate and it was already gone.
‘I got there two hours before and I missed my flight so I’m not sure who got my flight.
‘There’s only one flight per day from RyanAir to Palermo, I was sent to a gate to rebook my flight for free and it was a massive queue to book.
‘I’m not prepared to wait it took me two minutes to walk the length of it. But you can only book for free if you wait in the queue.
‘Now I’m queuing to leave the airport. People are pushing, it’s doing my head in.
‘There’s at least 150 people waiting to just leave the airport and the queues getting longer and I’m seeing faces from the first queue.
‘We didn’t have a lot of information early on, at the start, it was chaos and people didn’t know what was going on but the staff have been really great.’
A spokesperson for Stansted Airport told MailOnline that no flights were cancelled today.
Passengers have been left stranded at the airport while others gave up on their holiday and headed home
A spokesperson for Stansted Airport told MailOnline that no flights were cancelled today
Stranded passengers claimed that the power outage meant airport staff were forced to communicate by shouting over hundreds of people.
One passenger wrote on X: ‘Some people are queuing outside just to get inside the airport terminal. Some have given up and gone home as they have missed their flights.’
In a statement on X, the airport said: ‘Our teams are working hard to fully restore operations following the IT issue that impacted our systems earlier this morning.
‘While the issue has been resolved, some flights may still be subject to delays.
‘We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause and advise passengers to check the status of their flights with their airlines before travelling to the airport.
‘We hope to have all systems fully resolved soon and will provide another update shortly.’
Around 15,000 departing passengers transit through Stansted on a usual Sunday morning, a spokesperson for the airport said.
‘All systems have now been fully restored and no flights have been cancelled as a result of the IT issue,’ the spokesperson added.
Holidaymakers were forced to queue for hours after the wave of disruption caused issues for passengers progressing through check-in, baggage and security (file image)
Stranded passengers claimed that the power outage meant airport staff were forced to communicate by shouting over hundreds of people
‘We are investigating the cause of the earlier issue so nothing confirmed at this stage but, for background, it looks like it was related to internet access for some systems.’
However, passengers have been left stranded at the airport while others gave up on their holiday and headed home.
One frustrated passenger said: ‘I was supposed to get a 6.30 am flight to Turkey, but at 9.30 am, I was still in the airport.
‘I hadn’t even checked in, let alone gone through security.’
Pictures from the airport show massive queues within the terminal and outside it.
A spokesperson for easyJet told MailOnline: ‘Although the issue has now been resolved, we are aware of longer than usual queues at Stansted Airport today and so are advising customers due to fly to allow additional time to make their way through the airport.
‘We have been doing all possible to minimise the impact of the airport queues, holding flights to allow customers extra time to get to their departure gates and providing free flight transfers for any customers who may have missed their flight as a result of these queues.’
RyanAir has been contacted for comment.
