A “significant” number of flights from Manchester Airport are expected to be delayed or cancelled due to a “major” power cut, its operator has said.

In a statement released at 06:30 BST on Sunday, the airport said the issue – which occurred in the early hours of the morning – had caused “widespread disruption” which is affecting flights from Terminals 1 and 2.

The airport said a number of flights had already been cancelled – and more were expected to be affected throughout the day.

“Passengers due to fly from Terminal 3 should come to the airport as normal unless advised otherwise by their airline, but could be affected by delays,” Manchester Airport advised.

The disruption comes at the start of the busy summer holiday season at the UK’s third-busiest airport.

Air travellers using the airport used social media to complain about long queues for check-in desks and passport control, as well as a lack of communication from staff in the “chaos”.

Images and video footage showed long queues of people – some waiting in near darkness. 

The airport said its electricity supply went out around 01:30 but has since been restored, although it will take time to get systems up and running again.