The
lack of a water fountain in the main departure lounge at London Stansted
Airport continues to bug me. I went through there recently, with Honeyguide’s Picos de Europa group, and again there
was no public water fountain to re-fill water bottles after security.
Stansted
Airport advises that catering outlets will fill water bottles, which from my
experience is true. The kind people at Pret a Manger did this for me and other Honeyguiders,
with such speed and charm that it suggests the request is likely and expected.
But how many others would think to ask? That service is not advertised.
Why
does it matter? It could be argued that access to drinking water is a basic human
need. But for me it’s all about reducing single use plastic. It’s easy to buy
bottled water from any number of retail outlets. That won’t stop, but access to
a fountain or tap would reduce the volume of plastic water bottles sold and
used once.
You’d
have to deaf and blind not to realise that single use plastic is an environmental
concern. Refillable water bottles is an obvious ‘quick win’. BBC programmes such
as Blue Planet and War on Plastic have highlighted the volume of
plastic in our lives (and getting into our seas). Glastonbury went free of plastic
bottles this year – and Sir David Attenborough went on stage to applaud that
good work.
 |
| Water fountain after security at London Gatwick's North Terminal, March 2019. |
The
shame – from Stansted’s perspective – is that there used to be a perfectly good
fountain in the entrance to the loos. That was taken away in the refurbishment
two or three years ago.
I’ve
been in correspondence with the Stansted Customer Relations team off and on since then. In
January 2018, I was informed that:
“Having
liaised with the terminal management team, I can confirm that we are currently
surveying locations for a water fountain in our departures lounge. As you will
appreciate there is currently extensive building work being undertaken and any
new water fountain will be phased in line with these works as we would not want
to install something now and then move it again at some point in the near
future.”
Well,
it hasn’t happened. My most recent correspondent says:
“At
present, water fountains are in place at various locations within the airport
including land side areas (before security), boarding gate satellites, the
immigration hall and the baggage collection hall.”
But
there is no fountain in the main departure lounge. I haven’t named names above:
it’s unfair to do that for PR staff who have to put a positive spin on senior
management’s lack of action.
The
picture here shows one of two water fountains located immediately after
security at London Gatwick’s North Terminal. We all know that you cannot take
liquids through security, so this is the logical and sensible place to put them.
There are water fountains with signs elsewhere in departures at Gatwick.
So,
Stansted, please do what London Gatwick does. It’s not too much to ask, surely?
Chris Durdin, July 2019
