Holidaymakers at Gatwick Airport faced disruption on Sunday morning (June 1) after a fire alarm forced the evacuation of the South Terminal departure lounge, one of the UK’s busiest international travel hubs.

Fire Alarm Sparks Evacuation

Passengers were ushered out of the South Terminal at approximately 10:30am as the fire alarm sounded. Videos shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) showed travellers calmly exiting the terminal, with the fire alarm audibly ringing in the background.

Emma Harckham, one passenger, posted: “Not the fire alarm going off at Gatwick Airport and everyone having to evacuate.

No Fire Confirmed – Terminal Reopened

A London Gatwick spokesperson confirmed the incident was a false alarm. The airport’s dedicated fire service responded swiftly and found no evidence of a fire.

“London Gatwick’s South Terminal Departure Lounge was evacuated for a short time this morning due to a fire alarm activation.
Our dedicated Airport Fire Service swiftly attended and confirmed there was no fire.
Passengers were allowed back into the Departure Lounge shortly after.
Safety and security are our top priority and we resolved the situation as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said.

Criticism Over Staff Confusion

Despite the quick resolution, some travellers expressed frustration over a lack of coordination. One passenger tweeted: “Gatwick Airport – train your staff for fire alarms. Customers asking where to go when fire alarm went off and multiple staff had no idea.”

Travel Impact and Background

Although the evacuation caused minor delays, operations resumed swiftly, and no injuries were reported. Gatwick Airport, located near Crawley, West Sussex, is the second busiest airport in the UK, handling flights from more than 50 airlines to destinations across the globe.

The incident has since been resolved, and the live blog has been closed, with normal service now resumed across the terminal.