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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent

Airlines warned Heathrow about power supply risks days before outage, MPs told

A plane takes off as smoke rises from an electrical substation a day after it caught fire and wiped out power at Heathrow.
A plane takes off as smoke rises from an electrical substation a day after it caught fire and wiped out power at Heathrow. Photograph: Carlos Jasso/Reuters

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

Heathrow’s 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”.

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