Gatwick South evacuated - 9th May
May 9, 2024, 3:57 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2020
Programs: BA Gold, HH Diamond
Posts: 99
Gatwick South evacuated - 9th May
I got caught in this mess about an hour or so ago.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxe94dzj5nko
A fire alarm was set off and the terminal was evacuated. We somehow ended up getting guided towards immigration passport control. The staff there had no idea about a fire alarm and we had now mixed with arrivals. We were then told to make our way backwards against the arrivals and through a separate fire escape (as other arriving pax just went through passport control). We were then held in an outdoor evacuation point for 45mins. It turns out some of the arrivals had followed us so there was a group of mixed departures and arrivals pax outside. Eventually we got let back directly to departures without re-clearing security. Bit of a mess and I'm pretty sure we should have gone through security again since we mixed but I'm not complaining! On my flight now...
Anyone else got caught in this?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxe94dzj5nko
A fire alarm was set off and the terminal was evacuated. We somehow ended up getting guided towards immigration passport control. The staff there had no idea about a fire alarm and we had now mixed with arrivals. We were then told to make our way backwards against the arrivals and through a separate fire escape (as other arriving pax just went through passport control). We were then held in an outdoor evacuation point for 45mins. It turns out some of the arrivals had followed us so there was a group of mixed departures and arrivals pax outside. Eventually we got let back directly to departures without re-clearing security. Bit of a mess and I'm pretty sure we should have gone through security again since we mixed but I'm not complaining! On my flight now...
Anyone else got caught in this?
May 9, 2024, 5:54 am
#3
Join Date: Apr 2017
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 1,398
I've seen a few examples over the years of security cleared and uncleared people being allowed to mix - a couple of times when airport toilets have been out of order and pax have been directed through 'no entry' channels to use facilities and then return.
Doesn't take much for these carefully segregated systems to fail in exceptional but foreseeable circumstances that should have been better planned.
Doesn't take much for these carefully segregated systems to fail in exceptional but foreseeable circumstances that should have been better planned.
May 9, 2024, 6:11 am
#4
Join Date: Oct 2017
Programs: Honors Diamond
Posts: 1,657
I would expect Gatwick will want to learn from this event. If I were the OP I would put the info in their post in an email to the airport, as understanding what happened post these kind of events can be quite difficult.
May 9, 2024, 10:21 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,255
Purely out of interest, was it a full alarm or intermittent in your area?
This link shows the fire assembly points for both terminals. Typically the area required to be evacuated would have continuous bells and an automated message (or at least it used to) and the safe areas had intermittent alarms.
LGW fire assembly points
I'm guessing you were in either the departure lounge or down Pier 2 when the evacuation commenced?
This link shows the fire assembly points for both terminals. Typically the area required to be evacuated would have continuous bells and an automated message (or at least it used to) and the safe areas had intermittent alarms.
LGW fire assembly points
I'm guessing you were in either the departure lounge or down Pier 2 when the evacuation commenced?
May 9, 2024, 11:29 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2020
Programs: BA Gold, HH Diamond
Posts: 99
Purely out of interest, was it a full alarm or intermittent in your area?
This link shows the fire assembly points for both terminals. Typically the area required to be evacuated would have continuous bells and an automated message (or at least it used to) and the safe areas had intermittent alarms.
LGW fire assembly points
I'm guessing you were in either the departure lounge or down Pier 2 when the evacuation commenced?
This link shows the fire assembly points for both terminals. Typically the area required to be evacuated would have continuous bells and an automated message (or at least it used to) and the safe areas had intermittent alarms.
LGW fire assembly points
I'm guessing you were in either the departure lounge or down Pier 2 when the evacuation commenced?
I was in the lounge when it started and it was ringing in the main departures hall too. After being taken to passport control (where it wasn't ringing), we were walked back and ended up at Assembly Point 3 until they let us back in near gate 5.