Edinburgh Airport ground to a halt this morning as a major power failure took hold of a large section of the building, including security.

Passengers took to Twitter to post images of travellers standing in the dark as staff announced: “Please bear with us, a huge area has been affected by a power cut.”

One online user said: “Folks now getting agitated. No communication, no explanation. Not everyone on internet. No staff walking around explaining and reassuring.”

Edinburgh Airport said on its social media pages: “We’re currently experiencing a power outage. The safety & security of our passengers is priority, please work with us as we fix the issue.”

Lothian Buses also said its services were unable to make their way into the airport.

The group said: “Due to a power cut, our Airport services are currently unable to access @EDI_Airport and are terminating outside at the Hilton Hotel.”

A spokesman for the airport has since said: "We can confirm power is now returning to the terminal and that flights have resumed.

"We're working to allow passengers to continue their journeys in a safe and ordered manner, and we thank passengers for their patience whilst we do this.

"As always, the safety of passengers and staff is our priority. We expect there to be further delays whilst we clear the backlog."

The airport is the sixth busiest in the UK, handling more than 12 million passengers a year.