Gatwick Airport Without Running Water

A water supply issue disrupted both terminals at Gatwick Airport on Sunday, July 26, 2026, forcing restaurants to shut, leaving restrooms without running water, and prompting airlines to adjust flight schedules amid an ongoing investigation.

Widespread Disruption Across Both Terminals

Gatwick Airport suffered a complete loss of running water due to outages affecting the surrounding area.

“That means no coffees, no water fountains, no flushing toilets and no hand washing.”

Julia Hartley-Brewer, Broadcaster

Julia Hartley-Brewer also stated on social media: 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. She further criticized the communication regarding the incident, writing: Gatwick hasn't bothered to make a public announcement about this…

Passengers arriving at the facility found themselves facing immediate sanitation and food service hurdles. Roger Wood, a traveler from Tunbridge Wells in Kent who arrived ahead of his flight to meet friends, discovered that dining establishments in the south terminal had completely shut their doors to incoming customers. Roger Wood said he thought his friends were joking when they told him there were no restaurants or bars open in Gatwick’s south terminal.

“…there was no water at all – no Nando’s, no Wetherspoon, all of those places were completely shut and stopping people coming in as there was no fresh water or ability to wash hands.”

Passenger Roger Wood, Tunbridge Wells in Kent

Normally Wetherspoon is absolutely packed but there were staff on every door turning people away, including people asking for some hot food. He told

While traditional pubs and sit-down eateries turned patrons away at the door, travelers could still purchase packaged food items from select retailers like Pret and Itsu. Wood noted that the only place you could buy something was places like Pret and Itsu where it was packaged food, or shops. Although restroom facilities remained physically accessible to the public, Wood stated that people could go in the toilets but there was no way to wash hands and conditions had grown worse in the hour or two they were there.

Airport Response and Horley Area Investigation

Airport management issued a public statement addressing the infrastructure failure shared on their website, confirming that technicians were actively working to locate the source of the problem. Officials pointed to external infrastructure difficulties impacting the nearby community.

“A water issue in the Horley area is causing disruption at the airport this morning. The problem is affecting water supply in both terminals and is currently under investigation.”

Gatwick Airport, Official Statement

To mitigate the crisis, airport operators began distributing bottled water to stranded passengers and staff throughout the facility. In its statement, the airport added: Bottled water is being made available to passengers and staff across the airport and other contingency measures are being put in place to ensure the welfare of our passengers.

Additional contingency measures were deployed to support basic passenger welfare while utility crews investigated the underlying fault.

“We will provide further updates and apologise for any inconvenience to passengers.”

Gatwick Airport, Official Statement

Flight Schedule Adjustments and Traveler Delays

BBC reporter Adam Dowling, who was flying from Valencia to Gatwick, said his flight had been delayed because of the water supply disruption and passengers had been informed that landing slots were being moved around to reduce the number of flights coming in to Gatwick.