A water supply outage on the morning of 26 July 2026 disrupted passenger services at London’s Gatwick Airport, affecting water availability in both terminals. The outage, caused by a power failure at a nearby SES Water treatment facility in the Horley area, led to low water pressure and a temporary loss of supply impacting facilities such as toilets, hand washing stations, hot drink dispensers, and water bottle refill points.
Official Statements and Contingency Measures
Gatwick Airport confirmed the issue originated from the Horley area and is under investigation. “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,” the airport stated. The airport also said bottled water is being distributed to passengers and staff, with contingency measures enacted to maintain passenger welfare during the outage.
Regional water supplier SES Water attributed the disruption to a power outage at a local water treatment plant. The company said the outage caused low pressure or supply interruptions affecting parts of the Horley area, including Gatwick Airport. SES Water is collaborating closely with airport authorities to restore normal water services.
Impact on Passenger Facilities and Operations
The water shortage forced the closure of all airport restaurants
due to inability to maintain essential hygiene and service standards. Passengers were unable to use toilets for flushing, wash their hands, obtain hot drinks, or refill bottles, necessitating reliance on bottled water distributed by airport staff. Despite these disruptions to terminal amenities, Gatwick Airport reported that flight operations remained unaffected throughout the incident.
