Gatwick Airport suffers water outage as passengers unable to flush toilets or fill up bottles

By JAKE HOLDEN, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:39, 26 July 2026 | Updated: 12:50, 26 July 2026 Passengers have been left without running water at Gatwick Airport as a severe water outage has hit the busy transport hub. Flyers have been unable to flush toilets, wash their hands or refill water bottles. Travellers also reported restaurants and bars are closed and that they are unable to get coffees from kiosks as taps run dry.  Staff have had to hand out bottled water across the North and South Terminals to keep passengers hydrated. 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 the UK's second busiest airport have not been affected by the outage. A Gatwick Airport spokesperson said: '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. '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. 'We will provide further updates and apologise for any inconvenience to passengers.' 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 SES Water, which serves the airport, said: 'We have an issue at our Bough Beech Water Treatment Works with some customers experiencing either low water pressure or loss of supply. We apologise to everyone affected by this incident. 'We are working hard to return water supplies to normal.' 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.'