Passengers at Stansted Airport have faced long delays and disruption after an IT glitch caused some of the airport’s systems to fail.
The malfunction affected check-in, baggage, and security, London Stansted said on Sunday morning.
One passenger said it was “mayhem” with overcrowding and long queues which went outside the terminal, difficulty processing luggage, and confusion as to which boarding gates passengers had to go to.
A spokesperson for Stansted Airport told the PA news agency: “The terminal was exceptionally busy early this morning during the IT outage, but there were plenty of staff on hand to assist passengers, including medical staff, and water was handed out to passengers while they waited to clear security, as well as announcements to keep them posted on what was happening.”
“It was, of course, very busy so that is why passengers were being queued outside the terminal building to help relieve any overcrowding,” the spokesperson added.
Lizzy Brereton told PA her Jet2 flight to Ibiza was supposed to be at 07.45am on Sunday, but was delayed until 11.15am.
The 26-year-old Tesco manager from Kent, who was travelling with a friend, said they had to queue for hours with “little to no information” as to what was going on.
“The airport was absolutely mayhem, there was no organisation whatsoever,” she said.
“We received little to no information at the airport.
“There was a Tannoy every so often telling us there may be delays but no communication around what the problem was.”
Ms Brereton said: “We got to the airport at 4am and queued in different queues until 10.45am as no system was working.
“We had to check in our bags and then queue again to drop them off, which (were) then all dumped in a pile at check-in by staff.
“When we finally got through hours of queuing at check-in, security etc, we were faced with boards showing our gate has shut even though on the Jet2 app it was saying it had been delayed.
“There was not one person around to ask about where we find our gate.
“Luckily we googled it and found our gate number and made it in time for boarding.”
Ms Brereton also reported problems with the processing and transfer of luggage, with some left behind as the flights departed late.
She said: “When we got on the plane I queried that my suitcase was still in the airport as I have an air tag and was told that half of the luggage was going to be left behind along with several people that hadn’t made the flight.
“Thankfully, they went and got more bags before the flight took off so we managed to get our bags but a lot of people on the flight didn’t get theirs.”
In a statement on X, the airport said the IT issue was now resolved, but some departing flights may still experience delays.
The statement read: “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 problem, which may have been related to the systems’ internet access, a spokesperson for the airport said earlier on Sunday.
“All systems have now been fully restored and no flights have been cancelled as a result of the IT issue,” the spokesperson said.
“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.”
