Passenger Roger Wood, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, said he thought his friends were joking when they told him there were no restaurants or bars open in Gatwick’s south terminal.
When he arrived to meet them ahead of his flight on Sunday, he found “there was no water at all – no Nando’s, no Wetherspoon, all of those places were completely shut and stopping people coming in as there was no fresh water or ability to wash hands”.
He told the BBC: “Normally Wetherspoon is absolutely packed but there were staff on every door turning people away, including people asking for some hot food.
“The only place you could buy something was places like Pret and Itsu where it was packaged food, or shops.”
Wood said people could go in the toilets but there was no way to wash hands and conditions had grown worse in the hour or two they were there.
People heading to the airport for flights have been advised not to arrive early.
A statement from Easyjet said: “Due to a water supply issue affecting London Gatwick Airport, bag drop desks are temporarily opening two hours before departure instead of three hours.”
The airline said: “Please do not arrive earlier, as you will not be able to drop off your bags or enter the departure lounge until bag drop opens.”
SES Water confirmed the Kent postcodes TN8 and TN11 and parts of Surrey postcodes RH1, RH6 and RH10 had no water supply or low pressure. The company said it was delivering bottled water to vulnerable customers.
Gatwick Airport and the local area also suffered water issues in July 2022, when low pressure caused by a burst water main affected 1,200 houses and closed toilet facilities at the airport.
