Fifty-four British passengers missed a Ryanair flight to London Stansted after a water leak in a server room at Copenhagen Airport caused an "extraordinary operational issue" that led to massive queues at passport control on Tuesday, August 18.
Passengers who arrived at the airport confident they had given themselves plenty of time found themselves trapped in seemingly endless queues stretching through the terminal.
Water Leak Triggers Operational Issue
A water leak in a server room connected to the passport control area in Pier E — one of the airport's two passport control facilities — triggered an "extraordinary operational issue" that drastically cut normal processing capacity. With Pier E out of action, every passenger was funnelled through Pier C for the remainder of the day, creating an agonisingly long wait.
Of the 179 passengers due to board a Ryanair service to London Stansted, 54 never made it through in time. With boarding closed, the budget carrier removed the stranded passengers' luggage from the hold before the flight departed 39 minutes behind schedule.
Similar Incident in May
The situation echoed a similarly frustrating incident in May, when passengers missed a Ryanair flight from Athens to London Stansted after queues beyond their control caused them to arrive at the gate too late. In both cases, those affected were left watching helplessly from the tarmac, just metres from the aircraft, as their baggage was unloaded.
Once boarding is shut, a legally binding manifest report is signed and submitted to the captain, and the process cannot lawfully be reversed — even if passengers are present and the aircraft doors are still open.
Ryanair and Airport Response
A Ryanair spokesperson said: "Due to delays at passport control at Copenhagen Airport (18 Aug), a number of passengers booked to travel from Copenhagen to London Stansted were not at the boarding gate when boarding for their flight closed and missed their flight. All passengers that were at the boarding gate when this flight boarded travelled without incident."
"To accommodate passengers delayed in passport control, the boarding gate remained open beyond its scheduled closure time. All passengers who presented at the boarding gate before it closed travelled on this flight. Passengers affected by these passport control delays were offered Ryanair's Missed Departure Fee to travel on the next available flight."
The chaos had no connection to the incoming EU Entry/Exit System (EES), which will require travellers to scan their passports, faces and fingerprints when crossing EU borders.
An airport spokesperson said: "The longer queues at passport control on Tuesday afternoon were caused by an extraordinary operational issue and were not related to the EES system. On Tuesday afternoon, an unfortunate water leak occurred in a server room connected to the passport control area in Pier E, one of the airport's two passport control facilities. As a result, all passengers had to pass through passport control in Pier C for the remainder of the day."
"When half of the available passport control capacity is taken out of operation, longer waiting times are unfortunately unavoidable. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this caused our passengers."
"Passengers were informed about the additional waiting times via public announcements, and we deployed additional customer service staff in Pier C to provide guidance and assist passengers whose flights were close to departure."
"Airlines and ground handling companies were informed about the situation. Whether to delay a departure in order to wait for passengers is a decision for each individual airline. We would therefore recommend contacting Ryanair directly regarding flight FR7381."
Both passport control facilities were reopened by the police on Wednesday morning and are now operating at full capacity again.
