One of London’s biggest airports had to close multiple cafes and toilets on Sunday
Gatwick Airport has issued an update to passengers over its Monday opening plans following major water supply issues on Sunday.
Britain’s second-busiest airport lost its water supply for much of Sunday (July 26), prompting restaurants, cafes, and even toilets to close in both terminals. Passengers were given complimentary bottles of water by staff.
The water outage came at the start of the busiest period of the year to fly, so most had a disrupted start to their holidays.
Roger Wood, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, was one. He arrived at Gatwick South Terminal at around 11am on Sunday 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.”
The issue plagued the airport for most of Sunday, but shortly before 10pm yesterday evening, management said water supply has been restored for ‘most’ of its buildings. They hope to reopen the terminals as normal on Monday.
“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,” the statement said.
“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.”
The first flights out of Gatwick leave at 5:20am on Monday. The North terminal’s first departure is easyJet’s service to Athens, while the south terminal’s first take-off will be Wizz Air’s jet to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.
