To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Flights have been delayed at Stansted Airport after an IT fault sparked chaos.
Check in, baggage and security were all affected by the technical problem earlier this morning.
The issue has now been ‘fully resolved’, airport authorities said, but holidaymakers told Metro that scores of people are still experiencing significant delays.
Pictures show long queues forming in the airport as the outage meant a number of people missed their scheduled flight times.
Holidaymaker Ben Throssell, from Colchester, told Metro the airport was ‘just carnage’.
He missed his flight to Madrid after being stuck queuing outside the terminal for an hour.
The 37-year-old added: ‘It was horrendous.
‘We had to make the call whether to check out bag in for a flight which has already departed.
‘It is massively frustrating. People were relaying back information they had been told like the pied piper. It was just word of mouth.’
Ben added that the queue was beginning to get tetchy as frustrated passengers continued to wait.
‘There was a lot of frayed tempers and bags being rammed into people,’ he said.
Anne Alexander told Metro she queued for two hours only to miss her flight to Palermo, Sicily.
The journalist said: ‘It was like the walking dead. There was like a mass of people trying to get to security and departures.
‘It was chaos. People started getting mad and pushing through. It was mostly pretty good natured.
‘We had little to no information. They can’t help an IT outage but the response appeared disorganised.’
Anne said there was an option to rebook the flight for free, but the queue for that looked about two hours long.
She’s given up getting her flight today and is not hopeful she will get any sort of compensation.
The airport first acknowledged the technical fault at 6am this morning, posting on X and Facebook again at 8am to confirm the issue had been resolved.
Stansted posted again at 10.30am to confirm that ‘several airport systems’ had been affected, with the IT glitch now ‘fully resolved’.
They apologised for any inconvenience caused by the disruption and urged passengers to check their flights.
They said on X and Facebook: ‘Earlier this morning, an IT issue affected several airport systems.
‘While the issue has now been fully resolved, some departing flights may still experience delays.
‘We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. We thank our customers for their patience and understanding, and thank our colleagues for their hard work during this incident.
‘Passengers are advised to stay in contact with their airline for the latest flight information.’
Engineers are investigating the source of the IT glitch which caused the delays and disruption.
A spokesperson for London Stansted added: ‘All systems have now been fully restored and no flights have been cancelled as a result of the IT issue.
‘We are investigating the cause of the earlier issue so nothing confirmed at this stage.’
It is understood the issue is believed to be related to internet access for some systems
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
