Gatwick Airport is said to be running out of fuel as British tourists have been warned of prospective holiday chaos.
Airlines have been placed on high alert and pilots instructed to take on additional fuel wherever possible before arriving at Britain’s second busiest airport.
Emergency notifications were circulated to crew members warning that Gatwick faces at least 48 hours of constrained fuel availability.
One memo seen by The Sun stated: “For attention of all crews: Gatwick has a shortage of fuel for the next two days. Please uplift max possible fuel at outstations.”
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A separate “emergency” alert sent to senior aviation figures flagged “potential disruption to the Gatwick fuel supply,” raising alarm across the industry during one of the busiest periods of the summer travel season.
Long-haul services face the greatest risk of disruption, as aircraft operating routes beyond roughly two-and-a-half hours will still require topping up at Gatwick regardless of how much fuel crews manage to load abroad.
Pilots are attempting to carry as much additional fuel as possible from overseas departure points, though they remain constrained by maximum take-off and landing weight limits.
A senior source at a Gatwick-based airline told The Sun: “The fuel shortage warning came with many long-haul flights already enroute to the UK, meaning crews were unable to bring extra fuel with them.”
The insider added that crews would try to “supplement as much fuel as they can down-route to protect the long-haul flights and stretch out supply,” but cautioned that the situation would deteriorate the longer it persisted, with “a good chance of disruption, particularly Monday onwards.”
The shortage has been traced to a technical fault at one of the principal fuel farms that supplies the airport, with engineers racing to rectify the problem.
Despite broader concerns this summer about jet fuel availability linked to the Iran conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz — which has driven fuel prices to nearly double their previous levels — the current crisis at Gatwick is understood to be entirely unconnected to geopolitical factors.
A London Gatwick spokesman said: “Following a technical issue impacting fuel supply to the airport, airlines have been advised to monitor fuel availability.
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“We are working closely with external suppliers to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and minimise any potential disruption. All airlines are operating as normal.”
The fuel crisis compounds what has already been a bruising fortnight for the airport’s reputation.
Just seven days earlier, passengers endured hours of chaos after a power failure at the Bough Beech Water Treatment Works, operated by SES Water, knocked out the water supply to the entire site.
Toilets were shut, every bar and restaurant across both terminals was forced to close, and travellers were left without access to running water for more than eight hours.
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