Gatwick Airport was forced to tell passengers to avoid going to the toilet on Thursday after a burst water main close to the airport caused water pressure to drop.
Electronic display screens across the airport displayed warnings about the lack of water and toilet facilities after a water main burst in Crawley. Some restaurants were also forced to shutter due to hygiene concerns, while airport officials handed out bottled water.
The local water company said it understood the “severity of this situation” and had inspectors at the scene working on a fix. After several hours, water was flowing but pressure remained so low as to make some services almost unusable.
The drama is yet another nightmare for passengers trying to use London’s second largest airport after weeks of disruption caused by staff shortages.
According to some passengers flying from Gatwick on Thursday, only two toilets in the airport were operational. To make matters worse, the UK is being gripped by a heatwave which is already putting a strain on water supplies.
On its Twitter account, Gatwick said it was working closely with SES water to get water restored but the airport wasn’t able to say when normal service would be resumed.
