Water supply finally returned to Gatwick Airport this evening after a day-long outage which left passengers with no toilets or access to running water, as well as the closure of the airport’s cafes, bars and restaurants.
The region’s supplier SES Water first reported problems on the morning of Sunday, July 26, affecting the postcodes of TN8, TN11 and parts of RH1 - which includes Gatwick.
SES stated these complications were caused by a power outage at its Bough Beech Water Treatment Works, which took several hours to fix.
In the meantime, the airport was left without access to running water, leaving toilets out of action as well as forcing the closure of the airport’s cafes, bars and restaurants - which placed an additional strain on seating.
In a message on X at 7.14pm, Gatwick Airport stated: “We recognise the inconvenience caused by today’s water shortage, following an issue at the Bough Beech Water Treatment Works that has impacted the local area.
"Since becoming aware of the issue, we have been working closely with SES Water and our airport partners to help minimise the impact.
"We are pleased to report that water pressure is beginning to return to normal, and our teams are working hard to reopen toilets and other facilities as quickly and safely as possible. Additional staff have been deployed across both terminals to support passengers and maintain operations.
"We thank passengers for their patience and understanding and will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available."
Earlier in the day, a frustrated passenger took to X to rebuff claims that bottled water was being handed out. They wrote: “There’s not been a single sign of anyone handing out bottled water. I’m at the airport right now... why were we not told that the final toilets would be before security?”
Another added: “I’ve been at Gatwick since 11am and only now at 12.39pm has the airport announced that there is a problem with the water. They are definitely not handing out water...”
On Facebook, one user posted: “Gasping for a drink & crossing my legs right now. This is ridiculous! Gatwick airport has shut all restaurants and most toilets due to a water outage. Not a great start to the holiday.”
Former MP and recently appointed Government “music champion” Michael Dugher wrote on social media: “At least allow people to use the chairs in all the closed restaurants and bars. No water is one thing, but depriving people of somewhere to sit is another… families are having to sit on the floor…”
The incident came after news broke yesterday that a fourth heatwave is expected to hit the UK as wildfires tear through parts of the country.
No rain fell in July in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and West Sussex, and 16 counties have recorded 0.1mm, which “might just be a bit of dew on the grass”, said the Met Office’s senior operational meteorologist Marco Petagna.
The UK has had 20% of its average July rainfall, which takes into account the wetter areas. It is “very, very unusual” for a hot and dry spell to last this long, Mr Petagna added.
The dry conditions follow last year’s drought summer, as the UK faces more extreme weather fuelled by human-caused climate change, mostly from burning fossil fuels.
Heat alerts are in place across parts of England with officials warning that temperatures are likely to impact on health and wellbeing.
