Gatwick Airport left with 'no running water' as travellers 'can't use toilets or buy drinks'

Gatwick Airport, Britain's second-busiest airport, experienced major disruption on Sunday July 26 after losing its water supply for most of the day, affecting both terminals and forcing the closure of restaurants, cafes and toilets.

The water issue originated in the Horley area and was caused by complications at SES Water's Bough Beech Water Treatment Works following a power outage. The water company said some customers were experiencing low water pressure or temporary loss of supply in postcodes TN8, TN11, parts of RH1 and RH6. Passengers reported no water fountains, no flushing toilets and no hand washing facilities.

The disruption occurred at the start of the busiest period of the year for holiday travel. Roger Wood from Tunbridge Wells in Kent arrived at Gatwick South Terminal at around 11am to fly to New York. He told PA: "There was no communication. We arrived at 11ish and it had only started recently. We met friends at the bar but they couldn't serve us as they were unable to wash their hands."

Paul Lee, another passenger, told the BBC: "For people who need to go to the toilet this isn't good and still no announcement or official information - and the water they mentioned isn't being distributed."

The airport made bottled water available to passengers and staff, and implemented contingency measures. EasyJet announced that bag drop desks were temporarily opening two hours before departure instead of three hours, and advised passengers not to arrive early.

By shortly before 10pm on Sunday evening, airport management announced that water supply had been restored to the vast majority of the London Gatwick campus. Most toilet facilities reopened, with the airport expecting all toilets and food and beverage outlets to be fully operational for Monday's first flights at 5:20am. The North terminal's initial departure was easyJet's service to Athens, while the South terminal's first flight was Wizz Air's jet to Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.