GB News reporter battles storm
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A power surge affecting London Stansted Airport caused widespread disruption today, leaving hundreds of travellers facing lengthy delays.
Multiple critical systems, including security checkpoints, baggage handling and immigration controls, were knocked offline by the electrical fault, while 250 flights were delayed and six cancelled due to the technical difficulties.
There were extensive queues winding through the departures hall as passengers were unable to pass through security screening.
The electrical incident impacted both arriving and departing passengers, with particular queues forming at passport control areas. One frustrated passenger characterised the situation as a “total systemic collapse” whilst waiting for systems to be restored.
Jill Stakem described being confined in a corridor for more than 90 minutes as the airport struggled to process arriving holidaymakers. She told the BBC: “It’s horrendous. No communication, no seating for people, no one offering watering.”
Fellow passenger Gilles Corby reported waits for passport control had snaked back into the departures terminals. He claimed it had taken him 45 minutes simply to reach the entrance to border control.
Another traveller reported the airport only made a public announcement via its tannoy system after two hours had elapsed. They said the announcement confirmed electrical systems for baggage, security and immigration were not functioning, with staff attempting repairs, adding: “They should have done this ages ago.”
Ms Stakem criticised staff for inadequate contingency arrangements to deal with such incidents.
An airport spokesman confirmed an electrical surge earlier in the day had affected not only the facility used by up to 100,000 people each day but also surrounding Essex communities.
They added: “All systems are now back in service with operational teams working hard to provide support to passengers on their journeys through the airport.”
Operational teams were said to be working hard to assist passengers making their way through the terminal. The airport issued an apology “for any disruption and inconvenience they may have experienced while services were being restored”.
Social media responses from the airport’s official account thanked passengers for their patience.
The electrical surge knocked out the airport’s internal shuttle train service, which normally transports passengers between the main terminal building and the satellite gates. A n statement confirmed the transit system remained non-operational due to technical issues.
Replacement bus services were deployed to ferry travellers between the terminal and gates whilst engineers worked on the automated system.
The airport’s transit train is scheduled to be decommissioned next year as part of ongoing infrastructure changes.
Earlier, Storm Boelo resulted in the cancellation of dozens of Stansted Express services.
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