Water outage disrupts Gatwick Airport, shuts restaurants and toilets

Passengers at London’s Gatwick Airport experienced significant disruption on Sunday after a major water supply failure left both terminals without running water, forcing the closure of restaurants and bars and causing long queues at the few operational toilets.

The disruption began after a power outage at SES Water’s Bough Beech treatment works, which supplies the airport and surrounding areas. The incident resulted in low water pressure and temporary loss of water for customers across parts of Kent, Surrey and south London.

Gatwick Airport said the outage continued to affect operations throughout the day despite efforts to support passengers with bottled water and additional staff. The airport apologised for the inconvenience and said some food outlets had reopened solely to provide extra seating.

Although no flights were cancelled, the airport acknowledged ongoing disruption and said it was working closely with SES Water to restore normal services. SES Water later confirmed that power had been restored to the treatment plant and water supplies were gradually returning, though it warned that the network would take time to fully recover due to the complexity of the incident.

Passengers described scenes of confusion and frustration, with many reporting a lack of information from airport authorities. Several restaurants, bars and airport lounges remained closed, leaving travellers with limited places to sit, while only shops selling packaged food stayed open.

Many toilets were also out of service because taps and flushing systems were not functioning. Those that remained open relied on emergency water supplies, leading to lengthy queues and poor sanitary conditions. Some passengers said they were redirected to distant facilities, while others reported being turned away altogether.

The water outage also caused delays to some flights. EasyJet advised passengers not to arrive at the airport earlier than necessary, announcing that bag drop counters would open two hours before departure instead of the usual three.

SES Water said it was supplying bottled water to vulnerable customers in affected communities and thanked the public for their patience as engineers worked to restore the network. The utility noted that the disruption stemmed from an unusually complex fault at the treatment works.

The incident marks the latest water-related disruption at Gatwick after low water pressure caused by a burst water main affected the airport and surrounding communities in 2022.