Gatwick Airport water shortage: what happened, is the problem fixed, are toilets and restaurants still closed?

A burst water pipe caused chaos at Gatwick Airport as passengers were left unable to use toilets.

The airport has seen weeks of disruptions as flights from popular airlines like easyJet have been cancelled daily.

A burst water main has resulted in low water pressure at the airport in West Sussex yesterday (14 July).

According to reports toilets have been closed and restaurants were forced to close.

Here is all you need to know:

Does Gatwick Airport have water today?

Water has been restored to Gatwick Airport following the burst pipe incident yesterday (14 July).

Replying to queries about the situation on Twitter, the airports official acocunt said: “The issue with water pressure from SES has been resolved and we are operating normally.”

Why did Gatwick Airport experienced water issues?

Signs at the airport warned passengers yesterday that there is “limited toilets available” due to the “local water issues”.

Restaurants were also said to have been closed due to the water supply woes.

The issues were caused by a burst water main, which is affecting the water pressure at the airport.

What did Gatwick Airport say?

The airport has issued a statement following reports of the water supply issue.

A Gatwick spokesperson told myLondon: “An issue with the supply of SES Water to Gatwick and the surrounding area this morning has led to lower water pressure than normal across the airport.

“We are working closely with SES Water to ensure this issue is resolved as quickly as possible.

“We apologise for any inconvenience to passengers.”

Bottled water was made available for customers and staff.

How did passengers react?

Passenger Raquel Rodrigues, 49, who is travelling from Gatwick to Spain, spoke about the situation to Metro.

She said: “There are only two working in the whole terminal and you can imagine what the queues are like.

“Nobody wants the airport to close but there are heated exchanges between staff and people trying to travel with young families.”

What did SES said?

SES warned residents that there was low water pressure in Crawley, Horley and Gatwick, yesterday.

On its website a statement said: “We’re aware of customers having lower water pressure than normal in parts of Horley, Crawley, and Gatwick.

“We absolutely recognise the severity of this situation and apologise to anyone affected. We have inspectors onsite who are currently investigating this issue.

“We will update our website with new information as soon as it becomes available.”

Updating the situation at 1.37pm, SES added: “We have identified a burst water main in Shipley Bridge, Crawley, and are working hard to resolve this.

“As we progress with the repair, we’re hopeful this will begin to restore pressure to the surrounding areas.

“We’re sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.”

Are flights still being cancelled at Gatwick Airport?

Earlier this week British Airways announced it is to cancel hundreds more summer flights as previous schedule cuts aimed at easing disruption proved insufficient.

The airline said in a statement that it had “regrettably” become necessary to further reduce its operations.

Tens of thousands of passengers will be affected by the move to cancel flights at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Willie Walsh, who is now the director general of the International Air Transport Association, also believes surging oil prices will mean “flying will be more expensive for consumers, without doubt.”