Gatwick Airport has announced that it expects to operate normally on Monday after a water supply failure on Sunday caused the closure of toilets, cafes, and bars in both terminals, disrupting thousands of passengers at the start of the summer holiday season.
Water supply restored after day-long outage
The water outage, which began early Sunday morning, was caused by an issue at the Bough Beech Water Treatment Works operated by SES Water. The problem affected the airport and the surrounding local area. By shortly before 10pm on Sunday, airport management confirmed that water supply had been restored to the vast majority of the London Gatwick campus.
“Most toilet facilities are now open and we expect all toilets - as well as food and beverage outlets - to be open for tomorrow’s first flights,” the airport said in a statement.
The first flights from Gatwick on Monday depart at 5:20am. The North terminal’s first departure is an easyJet service to Athens, while the South terminal’s first take-off is a Wizz Air flight to Podgorica, Montenegro.
Passengers faced closed facilities and lack of communication
Passengers reported confusion and inconvenience as they arrived to find restaurants, cafes, and toilets closed. Staff distributed complimentary bottled water, but many travelers were left without access to basic amenities.
Roger Wood, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, arrived at the South Terminal around 11am on Sunday to fly to New York. He told the PA news agency: “There was no communication. We arrived at 11ish and it had only started recently. We met friends at the bar but they couldn’t serve us as they were unable to wash their hands. I’ve never seen Wetherspoons empty. No idea when it’ll be resolved, the toilets also lacked water to wash hands.”
Airport apologizes and thanks staff
Gatwick Airport acknowledged the inconvenience caused by the water shortage and thanked passengers for their patience. “We recognise the inconvenience caused by today’s water shortage and thank passengers for their patience and understanding. We'd also like to thank airport staff and our partners, who have gone above and beyond to support passengers and keep disruption to a minimum,” the statement read.
The airport confirmed that all flights on Sunday departed as scheduled, despite the water issues. Additional staff remained on hand across both terminals to support passengers and maintain operations as the airport returned to normal.
