London, June 14, 2026, 17:05 BST
- Rail disruption hit Gatwick passengers as emergency bridge repairs shut lines through Purley.
- Delays were reported at Gatwick on Sunday, live airport data showed. By late afternoon, no flight cancellations were listed.
- Just days after Gatwick named 11 firms for its £2bn, six-year construction framework, disruption hit.
Passengers heading to London Gatwick on Sunday dealt with big delays after urgent repairs to a bridge at Purley closed all lines through the station. Direct trains between London and the airport were suspended. Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express warned people not to travel. No trains were running between Purley and East Croydon, and alternate routes were limited, with some trips expected to take as much as 90 minutes longer.
Gatwick’s key rail links were hit by the disruption. The airport says it connects to over 120 train stations, and its website pushes real-time flight updates for travelers tracking arrivals or departures.
Delays, not cancellations, were the big issue at Gatwick on Sunday. FlightAware’s live Gatwick page showed 141 delays, but no cancelled flights. Passengers still had to watch for updates from their airline and the airport since the numbers didn’t point to mass cancellations.
Gatwick is facing fresh access issues while it works to support a larger summer network. Earlier this year, the airport said it was planning its busiest summer since 2019, with a schedule of more than 230 destinations and 62 airlines. There are eight new airlines. New or bigger routes include Royal Air Maroc to Tetouan, Condor to Frankfurt, Air Transat to Ottawa, AirAsia X to Kuala Lumpur and Air Arabia to Sharjah.
Gatwick’s expansion has given its infrastructure plan more weight than just the construction deals. Gatwick on June 10 handed out updated Building and Civils Frameworks to 11 contractors and specialists for as long as six years. The deals include work on pier upgrades, electric vehicle charging, self-check-in changes and terminal improvements. “Ensure enhanced efficiency and experience for passengers,” is how Gatwick capital programmes director Alasdair Scobie described the goal. Gatwick Airport Media Centre
Gatwick has listed BP Installations, Camgo Electrical, Costain, Gatwick Construction, Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure, M Group Transport, Mace Construct, Morgan Sindall Construction and Infrastructure, P J Carey, P.J. Hegarty & Sons and 8build as its contractors. According to Construction Enquirer, the group features both top-tier national firms and regional players, with all of them set to work on the airport’s £2bn upgrade plan running through the next decade.
Costain is lining up more work in the UK transport supply chain. Building Design & Construction Magazine said Costain landed spots on both Gatwick’s Civils Framework and Buildings Framework. The contracts are due to run four years with an option for two more, covering projects on both airside and landside.
Passengers want to know if trains and flights will run on time during the busy summer months. Gatwick faces a bigger question: can its £2bn programme actually deliver more capacity and keep operations smooth for a growing hub? The airport says it moves about 43 million passengers each year, adds £5.5bn in gross value, and backs more than 76,000 jobs. That means any disruption is a headache not only for travelers, but for the wider regional economy too.
