Passengers have been left without running water at Gatwick Airport as a severe water outage has hit the busy transport hub.
Flyers were unable to flush toilets, wash their hands or refill water bottles for hours, and disruption remains as service slowly returns.
Travellers also reported restaurants and bars are closed and that they are unable to get coffees from kiosks as taps run dry.
As bars and restaurants sit empty and hot food is taken off the menu, only premade meals like sandwiches are on offer as all cooking grinds to a halt in the airport.
Flights from Gatwick – which is the UK’s second busiest airport – have not been affected by the outage.
One passenger Jen Brook has been at the airport since 9.30am and has to remain there until 5.30pm because of flight cancellations.
She told the Daily Mail: ‘There are now no working toilets in the airport and the staff are being extremely unhelpful and rude.
‘Pregnant people and elderly are being turned away, and all the toilets have been locked due to being blocked.
‘People are saying that they can just go in the blocked toilets but the cleaners are not allowing this to happen.
‘One member of staff said “Go and complain about it then, I don’t care”.
‘It’s utterly disgraceful here.’
Passengers at Gatwick Airport can’t flush the loo, wash their hands, get coffee or refill water bottles as a severe water outage hit the transport hub. Staff are now handing out bottled water
Bins are stacking up as the only food available are premade meals from shops
Staff direct travellers away from the toilets as a severe water outage has hit the busy transport hub
Daily Mail reporter at the scene Caitlin Leng reported that the toilets were now functioning once again but that the bag drop at the airport is ‘total chaos’.
She said: ‘It was total chaos at bag drop and departures with limited to no staff on the ground telling the public what to do or what was going on.
‘Crowds were gathered in departures, sitting wherever they could and jostling for room as space was limited due to the cafes and restaurants being closed.’
An automated message has been blaring over the tannoy, issuing an apology to disgruntled passengers, she added.
Staff have had to hand out bottled water across the North and South Terminals to keep passengers hydrated and have said that service is slowly returning after more than four hours of problems.
A Gatwick Airport spokesperson said: ‘A local water supply issue is continuing to cause disruption.
‘There is currently no water supply in either terminal.
‘Our staff are on hand to support passengers and provide assistance where needed, some restaurant partners have opened to provide additional seating.
‘We apologise for the inconvenience caused and are working closely with SES Water to restore the supply as quickly as possible. We will provide further updates as they become available.’
SES Water, which serves the airport, said they were having problems with the Bough Beech Water Treatment Works which had caused low water pressure or a complete loss of supply for customers.
After apologising, they have said that the water treatment works are now ‘back up and running’ but work still needs to be done before service returns to normal.
A spokesperson said: ‘We now need to treat the water before returning services to normal as quickly as we possibly can.
‘We would like to thank customers and our partners at Gatwick Airport for their continued patience, and we are sorry for the inconvenience this is causing.’
People were forced to use the 20 portable toilets outside the toilet if they needed the loo
Toilets were cordoned off for hours and were blocked
Travellers report that bars and restaurants are closed and are not allowing customers to even sit at tables and have stopped providing all hot food
One angry flyer said: ‘The fact that all restaurants won’t even let anyone sit down is a joke’
Beyond the airport, nearby residents in Horley have also reported water supply failures, local media reported.
SES Water said their most vulnerable customers are receiving bottled water.
TalkTV presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer has been caught up in the chaos and took to X earlier to say: ‘If you’re on your way to Gatwick Airport, it might be helpful to know that there is no running water across the entire airport.
‘That means no coffees, no water fountains, no flushing toilets and no hand washing.
‘Gatwick hasn’t bothered to make a public announcement about this to passengers. How helpful…’
Another passenger said: ‘Gatwick Airport currently has no running water so no restaurants, no bars, no coffees, no flushing toilets, no washing of hands and no free drinking water.
‘I can’t even have an airport pint because they have………(checks notes) no running water. Gatwick is the worst!’
Another commenter said: ‘No water at London Gatwick Airport. No flushing toilets, running taps or drinking fountains. Britain’s becoming a 3rd world banana republic.’
One angry passenger said: ‘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.’
While another chimed in: ‘The fact that all restaurants won’t even let anyone sit down is a joke.’
