Stansted Airport has apologised for an IT failure that resulted in missed flights and long delays on Sunday, but is still investigating the cause.
The IT issue – which Stansted said this morning (Monday) may have been related to internet connectivity – started in the early hours of Sunday morning, causing long queues at security and check-in and leading to passengers missing their flights.
According to The Independent, an estimated 10,000 passengers missed their flights or were caught in long delays. Both Jet2 and TUI delayed flights so passengers could make their departure, but Ryanair flights took off on time to avoid delays.
Travellers took to social media to share images of queues in and outside the terminal.
On X, user @Zsanett86 wrote: “People were fainting, missing flights, losing a lot of extra money and nobody so far took any responsibility for all of this.”
Another user, @AOraiopoulos said: “Absolute CHAOS. Waiting over 4-5 hrs, massive queues, 1000s of people.”
Passenger Ben Silverstone told The Independent he arrived at Stansted at 5am for a 6.45am Ryanair flight to Madrid. He said: “There was a massive queue to get into the airport terminal, which didn’t move for about an hour.”
He was unable to drop off bags and left the airport, rebooking for a later flight from Gatwick on easyJet.
In a statement yesterday, Stansted said: “Earlier this morning (Sunday) an IT issue affected several airport systems. While the issue has now been 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.”
Stansted added by the afternoon the airport was operating ‘near normal’ and no flights were cancelled.
