Power cut disrupts Manchester Airport

[Alanwsg]

From the BBC ..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722ppxldldo

[chips101]

Is there not a back up system for runway lights etc. Accept maybe not for airport terminals.

[flightcatcher]

Is there not a back up system for runway lights etc. Accept maybe not for airport terminals.

Yes, all airports will have some sort of UPS / generator setup for safety critical systems. I'm sure runway lights, navaids, ATC, comms etc continued running as normal. The issue will be passenger handling within the terminals (maybe also safety and H&S considerations around lighting, ventilation, refreshment etc etc). If they can't move pax through, and get outbound aircraft off stands, very rapidly there will be nowehere to put inbound aircraft, not to mention dealing with thousands of inbound pax.

[WHBM]

It seems bizarre to have bought UPS power for one part of the airport operation, that termed "safety critical" (likely because the CAA require it), without having this for the rest of the operation, where such power failure renders the airport unusable as such. It's one operation.

Also noticeable is that some carriers (Jet2, TUI, etc) have eventually got all (as in ALL) their flights away, albeit hours late, with an operations recovery plan, while others (Easyjet especially, but also a number of mainstream European legacy carriers) have just "cancelled". For those who think you just get rebooked easily, you should try being there. Such carriers will just, sometimes seemingly grudgingly, just put you on their next departure with seats available, which at this time of year can be many days later, especially once the first passengers processed from the cancellation have grabbed all the availability. Tough bananas, for things you have paid for in the intervening days.

[42psi]

Not an airport specific power cut, a more general one in the surrounding area which affected the airport.

[2Planks]

Looks like the jet2 afternoon and evening wave are leaving empty to at least get everyone else home.

Good luck to all those on customer facing jobs at Manchester - I can only imagine how trying it is.

[Equivocal]

It seems bizarre to have bought UPS power for one part of the airport operation, that termed "safety critical" (likely because the CAA require it), without having this for the rest of the operation, where such power failure renders the airport unusable as such. It's one operation.Yes, back-ups for some systems are required by respective CAAs, but the requirement originates from ICAO SARPs. Whether an airport (or any other undertaking) installs back-up supplies for other services, and how long the alternative supply needs to last, are business decisions and should form part of business continuity plans for organisations for like airports. I suspect that most airports do a cost-benefit analysis and elect to gamble on the reliability of power supplies in a country like the UK; don't under estimate the cost of generators/UPS to keep an airport going for a sustained power outage.

To drift from the thread a little...the related issue of how the airport handles/manages an event like this is a slightly different matter. Last time I had any contact with the Manchester Airport operator I was rather surprised with the attitude displayed by a couple of quite senior managers which seemed to boil down to something like 'We just rent out facilities, how those facilities are used is up to those who rent things (whether airlines, retailers or service providers)'. It did make me wonder how they would handle an external disruptive event...and I guess we now have the answer. The experience presented me with a conundrum - the business approach taken by the company appears to have little interest in the customer experience for those passing through their facilities (which from what I saw would have frustrated the hell out of me) but the business makes money, by airport standards quite a lot of money. It's all down to priorities I guess.

[Midland 331]

(Sighs). I wonder when the last power outage (Disaster Recovery) readiness test was carried out? Was it deferred due to potential disruption to revenue-generating business? What has this disruption cost the airport?

[WHBM]

What has this disruption cost the airport?
Probably the reverse. As described above, they just rent out their premises, and I doubt there is any provision in there for rebates if there is a power failure. Furthermore, the additional chargeable time in car parks will be a significant windfall. Loss of landing fees income for cancelled flights will be balanced by additional aircraft parking charges for all the delayed and cancelled based aircraft.

[Dct_Mopas]

Apparently the power cut came and went over a few minutes. This on/off action seemingly damaged some of the airports electrical systems even with back up power available.

[WHBM]

Apparently the power cut came and went over a few minutes. This on/off action seemingly damaged some of the airports electrical systems even with back up power available.
It's often notable that such disruptions, like this one, occur outside of "normal office hours". The computers may have gone down and there was nobody on shift who knew how to restart them.

[DTA]

The reporting on this has inevitably been lacking in detail. It does appear however that they have backup power generation which did restore power in a few minutes. Whether it is ever fully tested is another matter. A test carries some risk but is essential as you never know for sure it will work if you do not test. Many years back a large organisation I was involved with had their large backup system but were too scared to test it. When utility power did eventually fail they found out that the changeover switch for the generator backup had been connected so that backup power was routed to the incoming network instead of the load. Bang, quite literally. It is not like UK airports are 24 hour operations soi there are opportunities to test.

One thing that has been reported is that the initial power failure caused a surge which damaged equipment. That is quite possible. One of the worst things that can happen in large power systems is loss of the neutral connection. That can cause a lot of damage and is not always appreciated by designers of these systems. A test would not necessarily include that.

If you travel to the developing world, power interruptions can happen several times each day. They cope with that and there may be something to be learnt from them as our own power networks deteriorate.

[BonnieLass]

https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/communication-ticker-page/ticker-notice-1/

I noticed alot of "sad face" reporting in the media over this outtage.

Several people complaining that not only their baggage didn't go on holiday with them, but nor did their medication.

Forgive me for being mildly logical but surely medication should go in the cabin baggage, not hold baggage (mine always went in the cabin with me, seemed sensible to do so incase the hold baggage went on a different holiday to the one I was going on)

[DaveReidUK]

Apparently the power cut came and went over a few minutes. This on/off action seemingly damaged some of the airports electrical systems even with back up power available.

Other reports say that it was the airport's backup power coming online that resulted in the power surge and consequential damage to systems.

[Lascaille]

https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/communication-ticker-page/ticker-notice-1/

I noticed alot of "sad face" reporting in the media over this outtage.

Several people complaining that not only their baggage didn't go on holiday with them, but nor did their medication.

Forgive me for being mildly logical but surely medication should go in the cabin baggage, not hold baggage (mine always went in the cabin with me, seemed sensible to do so incase the hold baggage went on a different holiday to the one I was going on)

The media will print whatever causes the most emotion for their readers. They're desperate to give the impression that nobody should travel by air, ever and seem really desperate to put a fork in tourism and general happiness levels.