Hundreds of passengers were left stranded without their luggage on Sunday after a power outage at Manchester Airport, throwing travel plans into chaos.
While some airlines cancelled their flights, others chose to keep holiday flights and today it emerged that many flights left without luggage. Since then, airlines have been trying to reunite the bags with their owners, on alternative flights from Manchester and other airports.
But many holidaymakers were said to be wearing the same clothes today (Wednesday) as they did on Sunday, while others spent a small fortune buying replacement clothing – even in charity shops – while their bags are still missing.
READ MORE: Flights to Manchester Airport canceled as Aer Lingus pilots begin strike action
Manchester Airport bosses announced that it was ‘business as usual’ on Sunday evening, with security and baggage systems back up and running after the power cut. However, the outage also affected airlines and their ground handling agents.
Sales Manager David Edmonds, 59, from Denton, and his wife Julie, spent £1,650 on a holiday to Spain to mark the start of his 60th birthday.
But like many travelers, their plans were thrown into chaos when they arrived at Manchester Airport at 3am on Sunday morning to find it in the grip of a power outage that had halted flights scheduled to depart from Terminals 1 and 2.
Three hours later, their TUI flight finally departed Manchester at 9am, but by the time it landed at Malaga airport, according to David, none of the luggage that needed to be boarded had arrived.
Shortly before landing, the captain had informed passengers that “the majority” of their luggage had not arrived, but shortly after landing ALL passengers on board received a text message confirming that their bags were still in Manchester, he said .
The apologetic text said the company had been unable to load their bags and blamed it on ‘major disruptions beyond our control in Manchester’. It went on to say that staff were ‘in the process of reuniting you with your bags’ and that they were entitled to compensation of £100 per bag.
“Everyone on the flight got a text message at the same time. It was ping ping ping. It was an absolute catalog of disasters,” David said.
Today (Wednesday) the couple, who were staying at the Hotel Riu Monica on the Costa Del Sol, were still without their luggage, which included prescription drugs and other valuables.
David said: “We’ve spent three or four hours buying clothes. It’s an absolute joke. I think we’ve spent about £400 so far. There are people here who are still wearing the same clothes and people who are going to thrift stores.”
Chloe McLeod from Bury managed to fly to Menorca with her children with TUI on Sunday for a £3,000 all-inclusive trip, but her luggage missed the flight.
From the holiday island, she said: “When we landed in Menorca we went to collect our bags and there were loads of TUI reps saying there was no one’s luggage. The only things that came in were strollers.
“We were lucky because some people didn’t have their medicine or their baby’s formula. I just wanted to go home at that moment, we had nothing.
“All we had were the clothes we were wearing, some snacks from the plane and the kids’ iPads. No essential toiletries or extra clothing.”
She said TUI has since offered to compensate those affected with £100 per missing bag, but the form they must complete will take ‘up to 28 days’ to refund.
“We have already spent about $500 on clothes and supplies to get through,” she said. “There are no underwear for sale anywhere, not even for our children.
“We received a message from TUI yesterday that the suitcases would arrive and we are hopeful. We can’t enjoy our holidays because we have nothing. I have a three-year-old, and if she has an accident, I have nothing for her to change into. So many of us are affected, we are all trading clothes and washing them by hand.
“There’s a running joke that we know who doesn’t have baggage because they wear ‘I love Menorca’ t-shirts. We keep hearing different things, I think Jet2 has the same problems.
“I’m really stressed because there are things in that suitcase. I had borrowed my mother’s Dyson airwrap and my friend’s suitcases, the compensation would not cover them or the contents of the suitcases when they are gone. It’s just frustrating.
“It’s a lesson you’ve learned to always pack extra in your carry-on, but you don’t think to do it.”
She added that the family had spent £3,000 on the all-inclusive so didn’t take many euros with them. “We took 500 euros with us and spent 490 euros – we thought we wouldn’t need it and had planned a boat trip – that is no longer possible.”
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: “Airline ground handling teams have been managing baggage that has not made it onto flights and always ensure it is absolutely safe. Most of the luggage that didn’t make it to Sunday’s flights has reached its owner or is in the process of getting there.
“We apologize for any inconvenience caused by Sunday’s outage and have been working closely with airlines, their designated ground handling teams and other partners to ensure that all passengers are reunited with their luggage as quickly as possible.”