A cyberattack targeting check-in and boarding systems has disrupted air traffic and caused delays at several major airports across Europe. Operations at multiple airports, including London’s Heathrow, were taken offline on Saturday after a service provider’s software was compromised in the attack.
At Heathrow, Berlin, and Brussels, at least 29 departures and arrivals were cancelled, according to aviation data provider Cirium. On Saturday alone, 651 departures were scheduled from Heathrow, 228 from Brussels, and 226 from Berlin.
Heathrow, the United Kingdom’s largest and one of the busiest international airports, “is experiencing a technical issue that may cause delays for departing passengers,” said Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in and boarding systems for several airlines across multiple airports worldwide. “While the provider works to resolve the problem quickly, we advise passengers to check their flight status with their airline before travelling,” the company added.
Collins Aerospace, a major US aerospace and military company and a subsidiary of RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies), confirmed it was aware of a “cyber-related disruption” affecting its software in select airports, without naming them. “The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations,” the company said, noting it was working to resolve the issue promptly.
Brussels and Berlin airports also confirmed disruptions, which rendered automated systems inoperable, leaving only manual check-in and boarding procedures. “This has a large impact on the flight schedule and will unfortunately cause delays and cancellations of flights,” Brussels airport said, adding that the cyberattack occurred on Friday night. Berlin airport noted on its website, “Due to a technical issue at a system provider … there are longer waiting times at check-in. We are working on a quick solution.”
Some airports were unaffected. Frankfurt, Germany’s largest airport, reported no impact, and Zurich airport’s operations control centre confirmed normal functioning. The country’s federal office for information security, BSI, said it was in contact with Berlin airport regarding “infrastructure disruptions” and confirmed that aviation security was not compromised. Paris Charles de Gaulle, Orly, and Le Bourget airports also reported no disruptions.
Airlines reported minimal operational impact. EasyJet stated it was “operating as normal” and did not expect further disruption, while Delta Air Lines implemented workarounds to minimize delays. Dublin airport temporarily evacuated Terminal 2 as a precaution but later resumed operations, warning of “some temporary disruption…during the remainder of the day.”
No group, individual, or state actor has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack, and no motive has been confirmed. There have been no reported instances of data theft related to the incident.
