Gatwick Airport passengers face water outage after main burst
Quick Look
- A burst water main in Horley disrupted supply at Gatwick Airport, leaving passengers without water in toilets and handwashing facilities, though flights remained unaffected.
- This marks the second such incident in recent months.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
This is the second water supply disruption at Gatwick Airport in recent months, following a major outage in July that caused long toilet queues and closures of restaurants and bars.
Gatwick Airport passengers were left without water after a main burst in a nearby field.
SES Water said that it located a burst main in Horley, with parts of the airport left without water as a result.
A spokesperson for the airport confirmed that the issue had affected water supply in both terminals and was under investigation by SES Water. The water company said it had begun to restore supply and that water pressure was beginning to return to normal.
Flights remained unaffected by the disruption, the airport added.
The issues come after a major supply outage in July saw passengers face long queues for toilets at the West Sussex airport, with restaurants and bars also closing.
Natasha Nzekwe, who was due to fly to Amsterdam from the North Terminal, said: "It's quite frustrating, but everyone seems to be pretty fine.
"There's no water at all, you can't even wash your hands in the toilets.
"If I were on a long haul flight I think it would be worse, not being able to properly wash your hands is frustrating, and they haven't given us any information as to what is going on."
Naduni Abeywickrama, who was travelling from London to Aberdeen, added that the delay was "extremely frustrating".
She added: "No one seems to be making a scene, but I feel frustrated because this is the second time this has happened."
Toilets in the airport's North Terminal are closed as a result of the supply issue, while the majority of toilets in the South Terminal are unaffected.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
SES Water will fully restore normal water pressure across Gatwick Airport terminals
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- What caused the water main burst in Horley?
- How long will it take to fully restore water supply across both terminals?
- What measures are being taken to prevent future outages?







