Gatwick Airport has confirmed that water supply has been restored to most of its buildings after a major outage on Sunday, July 26, and expects to reopen terminals normally for Monday’s first flights.
The outage, which hit Britain’s second-busiest airport on one of the busiest travel days of the year, forced the closure of restaurants, cafes and toilets in both terminals. Passengers were given complimentary bottled water.
Passenger experiences
Roger Wood, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, arrived at Gatwick South Terminal around 11am to fly to New York. He told PA: “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 statement
Shortly before 10pm on Sunday, Gatwick management issued a statement: “Following an issue at the Bough Beech Water Treatment Works which impacted the local area today, we are pleased to report that the water supply has now returned 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.
“Since becoming aware of the issue, we have been working closely with SES Water and our airport partners to help minimise the impact, and ensure all today's flights departed as scheduled. Additional staff remain on hand across both terminals to support passengers and maintain operations as we return to normal operations.
“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.”
Monday departures
The first flights out of Gatwick on Monday leave at 5:20am. The North terminal’s first departure is easyJet’s service to Athens, while the South terminal’s first take-off is Wizz Air’s flight to Podgorica, Montenegro.
