Thousands of British holidamakers have been hit by long delays at Majorcas Son Saint Joan airport after a massive power failure.

The long wait is a gloomy end to late-season sun,sea and sangria holidays for many.

The power cut threw the airport into chaos as lighting, speaker systems, detal detectors and check-in controls ground to a halt.

Electricity supplies were restored after six hours but some passengers waiting to fly home have been delayed for up to ten hours.

Backlogs

Airport officials say power to the control tower and runways at the airport was not affected but inbound flights were stopped and outbound ones are suffering long delays.

There are said to be backlogs of up to four hours getting passengers aboard their flights, adding up to a total delay of ten hours overall.

Bars at the airport were closed but tour operators brought food and drinks in for the delayed passengers.

Son Saint Joan airport is one of the busiest in Europe.

It was scheduled to handle more than 750 flights on Saturday, carrying an estimated 100,000 passengers.

http://www.sky.com/news/world/story9.htm

-- Doris (reaper@pacifier.com), October 21, 2000