Because of bad weather, technical concerns, or air traffic difficulties, most airport delays arise. But recently, at London Gatwick Airport, one of the busiest airports in the UK, thousands of travelers had to deal with the lack of running water.
The unexpected outage happened at the airport on Sunday and affected lots of restrooms without running sinks, which made many restaurants and food outlets stop their activities for some time. Although flights continued with only slight disturbances, passengers learned that something as simple as washing hands was impossible.
Soon there were long queues for the remaining working lavatories. It was described as an uncomfortable situation by travelers because many people were moving through the airport these days.
It’s not the airport where the problem started. Water supplier SES Water explained that the power outage at the Bough Beech Water Treatment Works led to a loss of clean drink water in the area. As a result, not only the airport suffered, but so did other communities in Surrey and West Sussex, such as Crawley, Redhill, Edenbridge, or Crockham Hill.
Though the engineers restored the water supply not long after, this fact raised a very important question about emergency planning at the airport.
Travel experts say that airports do have emergency plans for all the possible situations including power outages and computer crashes. They can always activate their additional power systems and implement technological solutions for their systems, but no one talks about the possibility of losing access to clean drinking water.
This situation should push airports to reconsider their approaches to emergencies preparation.
Unlike electricity, there is no second backup system that one can use. Restoring normal operations is not that simple unless large emergency water storage systems are already established.
Passengers that travelled through Gatwick in the overtaking shared their experience of long waiting queues for restrooms and closed outlets. Many stated that the absence of running water created an unpleasant environment in the terminal as hygiene was not easy to take care of throughout the day.
Fortuitously, the disruption was short-lived. Gatwick Airport was able to communicate on the re-establishment of water by Monday morning.
SES Water expressed regret to its clients and business partners about the recent disruption in service. The firm stated that efforts were made to ensure the prompt but safe restoration of service.
While the service was restored, the business cautioned that water pressure may still be lower than normal for some clients due to ongoing stabilization measures in the distribution system.
The situation highlights the fact that modern airports depend on more than just airplanes and technology for smooth running. Critical services, such as the supply of clean water, are often considered of secondary importance until they are no longer available. Although passengers may get ready for delays due to bad weather or lost luggage, very few of them think that the greatest challenge for the airport may be turning on the water supply.
