Cyber Attack Disrupts Major European Airports, Causes Flight Delays, Cancellation
Cyber Attack Disrupts Major European Airports, Causes Flight Delays, Cancellation
Brussels Airport confirmed the attack in a statement on Friday, saying at least 10 flights had been cancelled and 17 delayed by more than an hour.
Airports across Europe, including London’s Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin, are facing significant disruption after a cyber attack hit check-in and boarding systems, forcing airlines to switch to manual operations.
Brussels Airport confirmed the attack in a statement on Friday, saying at least 10 flights had been cancelled and 17 delayed by more than an hour.
“This has a large impact on the flight schedule and will unfortunately cause delays and cancellations of flights,” the airport said, according to Sky News.
Check-in desks at the Belgian hub displayed error messages reading “temporarily unavailable” in red, while staff resorted to writing baggage tags by hand.
London’s Heathrow Airport also warned of delays, attributing them to a “technical issue” at a third-party supplier.
It later confirmed that Collins Aerospace, a major aviation systems provider, was the company affected.
“Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in and boarding systems for several airlines across multiple airports globally, is experiencing a technical issue that may cause delays for departing passengers,” Heathrow reportedly said in a statement at 8:31am.
“While the provider works to resolve the problem quickly, we advise passengers to check their flight status with their airline before travelling.
“Please arrive no earlier than three hours before a long-haul flight or two hours before a domestic flight.
“Additional colleagues are available in check-in areas to assist and help minimise disruption. We apologise for any inconvenience.”
Passengers reported chaotic scenes, with Maria Casey, due to fly to Thailand with Etihad Airways, describing long queues and lack of communication.
“The queues are terrible,” she told Sky News. “It was an absolute skeleton staff. Out of six of the desks there were probably two people.”
She added that her flight had been delayed, “We were queuing for three hours and literally snaking and shuffling with this skeleton staff on the desk, and nobody was telling us then what was happening. But then I saw the breaking news on Sky News and I was like ‘ah ok, cyber attack’.”
Ariane Goossens, a spokesperson for Brussels Airport, confirmed the disruption was linked to a cyber attack targeting one of its external service providers.
“So what’s happening is that one of our external service providers, who provides us with a system for passenger check-in and boarding, was hit by a cyber attack last night,” she said.
“This is impacting processors, gates, and other European airports. What we’re seeing is that as of this morning, there hasn’t been a solution yet.
“So, very concretely, this means that passenger boarding and check-in is being done manually. This takes longer, which is why some flights are being cancelled or delayed.”
Collins Aerospace, whose systems are widely used at airports worldwide, confirmed the problem stemmed from a cyber-related disruption to its MUSE software.
RTX, its parent company, said in a statement, “We are actively working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible.
“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations.”
The company’s technology enables passengers to check in, print boarding passes and bag tags, and dispatch luggage from kiosks.
Authorities at Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport said a service provider for passenger handling systems was attacked on Friday evening, forcing operators to cut off connections.
Brussels Airport said it remains unclear how long the disruption will last, “It is still too early to say when the problem will be resolved.”
As of Saturday morning, major European hubs in Brussels, Berlin, and London continue to report delays, with fears of further knock-on effects across the continent’s busy air travel network.
