A cyberattack on a third-party systems provider late Friday disrupted electronic check-in and boarding systems at several major European airports, prompting delays and cancellations at Brussels, London’s Heathrow and Berlin Brandenburg airports, authorities said Saturday.
Brussels Airport said the attack left automated systems unusable and forced staff to operate manual check-in and boarding. Early reports said at least four departures were canceled and the airport warned of a “large impact on the flight schedule,” with further delays and cancellations possible2. Later operational updates put the number of canceled flights higher and described dozens of flights facing delays as staff coped with slower manual handling.
In a post on social media, Heathrow said a technical issue affecting systems supplied by Collins Aerospace — whose owner RTX said its MUSE passenger-handling software at select airports experienced a cyber-related disruption — may cause delays for departing passengers. Heathrow advised passengers to check their flight status with their airline before travelling, While the provider works to resolve the problem quickly.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport reported longer-than-usual wait times as operators cut connections to affected systems while troubleshooting the disruption.
Collins Aerospace said the impact was limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and that manual operations could mitigate delays while teams worked to restore full functionality. Not all carriers reported operational problems. EasyJet said its services were unaffected by the incident, and several other European airports, including Paris’s main hubs, reported no disruption tied to the outage.
Airport authorities and the systems provider said the duration of the outage remained unclear as teams worked through Saturday to contain the disruption and restore electronic services. Travelers should confirm flight status with their airline before heading to the airport and allow extra time for check-in and security processing.
A global media for the latest news, entertainment, music fashion, and more.
