London Stansted Airport: Chaos at UK airport with passengers warned to arrive early for flights after 'partial power outage'

Passengers arriving at London Stansted Airport today (Monday 29 April) have been warned to arrive “at least three hours” before their flight due to a “partial power outage” that has affected the airport. Airline Ryanair issued the warning to UK holidaymakers as a "power outage is affecting the baggage belt and security screening areas".

A Ryanair spokesperson said: “Due to a power outage affecting the baggage belt and security screening areas at London Stansted (STN), we are advising all passengers departing from Stansted Airport today to arrive at least three hours before your flight and to proceed straight through to security screening.” The airline urged passengers to monitor the Ryanair app for updates about their flight. 

In a statement London Stansted Airport said “power is now restored, and our teams are working hard to get systems back up and running” however “it is taking slightly longer than usual for passengers to pass through the terminal while systems recover”. The statement added: “Flights are operating as normal, but passengers are advised to allow plenty of time for their travel and check with their airline for the most up-to-date flight information. We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience and disruption to their journeys today.”

A customer at the airport posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, showing huge queues. The user wrote: “Thanks to @STN_Airport I'm missing my flight. I arrived two hours and a half earlier. They are working with half of the machines causing queues of more than an hour.”