- Gatwick suffered a water outage on 26 July, affecting both terminals.
- The cause was a power failure at the Bough Beech Water Treatment Works.
- Restaurants and cafes were forced to close due to lack of hand-washing facilities.
- EasyJet reduced baggage drop-off times from three hours to two hours.
- Water supplies have gradually begun returning to the airport.
London Gatwick Airport suffered a massive water outage on 26 July 2026, leaving both the North and South terminals without flushing toilets, running water or hand-washing facilities. The disruption caused widespread frustration for summer holiday travellers, though flights remained unaffected. The root cause was an unexpected power failure at the Bough Beech Water Treatment Works in Kent, operated by SES Water.
The system failure knocked out water pressure and supply across parts of Surrey, Kent and West Sussex. Many toilets were completely locked or guarded by staff, with remaining restrooms quickly developing long queues and lacking water for flushing or hand washing. Almost all restaurants, bars and cafes, including Wetherspoons, Nando’s, Greggs, Starbucks and Giraffe, were forced to shut down entirely because staff could not wash their hands.
Airlines like EasyJet actively rationed space by reducing baggage drop-off times from three hours down to two hours before departure.
SES Water confirmed on Sunday evening that power was successfully restored and water supplies have gradually begun returning to the airport. The airport and retail shops distributed free bottled water to passengers and staff for drinking.
