A MAJOR power cut to the terminal building at Cork Airport led to flight delays there yesterday.
The outage hit the airport shortly after 9.30am yesterday when the facility's electronic systems shut down and full power was not restored until 5pm.
Staff were forced to check in all passengers manually and security checks and baggage sorting also had to be carried out manually.
A spokeswoman for the airport explained that the switch from the electronic to manual system had led to delays.
Although partial power was restored by 1.30pm, a number of outbound flights were delayed by up to an hour.
"The power cut was confined to the building's management system in the terminal building where it affected power and air conditioning. However in terms of navigation, the radar, tower and runway lights were all working," said the spokeswoman.
She said staff had been doing their best to get passengers through manually, but the system was obviously slower than normal and there had been some delays. The flight schedule at Cork was reasonably light yesterday which helped the situation.
Engineers worked throughout the day to try to restore full power to the terminal building, she said, but it was not yet known what the cause of the power outage was. Although the airport does have a back-up generator, it did not appear to be working yesterday.
All main systems were back in operation at the terminal building yesterday evening although some minor system areas were still being brought back on line.
Airport management continued to monitor the situation through the night.
"Airport management would like to thank staff, the airlines and the travelling public for their understanding and co-operation during today's power outage," said the airport spokeswoman.
Although electronic check-in services were up and running again by late afternoon, the baggage system was still down by the evening.
Disgruntled passengers complained of being unable to even buy a bottle of water in the terminal building while they waited for flights.
Shops and restaurants had to close due to the lack of power and even the electronic food and drink dispensing machines were out of operation.
