Praise has been heaped on the ‘tireless efforts’ of a clean-up crew who worked through the night to reopen flood-hit Exeter Airport.
Exeter Airport, in Clyst Honiton, East Devon, was forced to cancel flights and close to passengers on Sunday (September 17) after torrential rain caused flash flooding at the main terminal.
Some 25 staff worked through the night to clean up the flood-hit building, and as a result the airport reopened to passengers in the early hours of Tuesday morning, checking in for the 6am flight to Menorca.
Steve Wiltshire, managing director at the airport, said: “I’ve never seen rain like it and it happened so suddenly. We were flooded to a depth of a few centimetres and we had no option but to close while we cleaned up.
“It was a massive team effort and I’d just like to say thank you to the whole airport crew who pulled out all the stops overnight to make sure we could open in time for our first departure this morning. And to Tool Care Hire in Exeter who opened especially for us and loaned us dehumidifiers and water vacs.”
He added: “Thankfully none of our critical systems was damaged by the flood and we’re quickly getting back to normal.
“We would like to thank all our passengers for their patience and understanding.”
The clean-up crew worked through the night to reopen the flood-hit airport.
Photo: with permission.
Torrential rain on Sunday afternoon recorded up to 32mm of rain falling in an hour at the airport.
The airport said it was forced to close at around 2.30pm when surface water flooded its arrivals and departures terminals, resulting in the cancellation of inbound and outbound flights for the rest of the day.
The ‘tireless efforts’ of around 25 staff who worked through the night, and the loan of equipment from Tool Care Hire in Exeter – which opened on Sunday to help – meant passengers could check in at the airport from 3.30am on Monday morning, ready for the day’s first flight to Menorca at 6am.
