Concerns about cable theft around supply raised with airport before substation fire

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Airlines warned Heathrow about risks to its power supply days before the airport was shut down by a substation fire, a Commons committee was told.

The Heathrow chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, apologised for the disruption, which affected more than 200,000 passengers on Friday 21 March, but defended the decision to close as he said staying open was potentially “disastrous”.