Reuters
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Cyberattacks at service providers for check-in and boarding systems have disrupted operations at several major European airports, including London’s Heathrow, the continent’s busiest, causing flight delays and cancellations on Saturday.
Collins Aerospace offers check-in and boarding systems to multiple airlines across multiple airports around the world, experiencing technical issues that could cause delays to depart passengers, Heathrow Airport said on Saturday.
Brussels and Berlin airports were also affected by the attack, they said in a separate statement.
RTX, the parent of Collins Aerospace, said it is aware of “cyber-related confusion” over software at certain airports.
“This impact is limited to electronic customers check-in and baggage drops, and can be mitigated through manual check-in operations,” RTX said in an email statement, adding that it is working to fix the issue as soon as possible.
The attack caused the automated system to become inoperable, allowing only manual check-in and boarding procedures, Brussels Airport said on its website, adding that the incident occurred Friday night.
“This has a major impact on flight schedules and unfortunately causes flight delays and cancellations. Service providers are actively working on this issue and are trying to resolve it as quickly as possible.”
The airport said 10 flights have been cancelled so far, with an average delay of 1 hour for all departure flights.
Passengers scheduled for Saturday were advised to confirm their travels with the airline before heading to the airport from the affected airport.
Delta Air Lines hopes to minimize the impact on flights departing from the three affected airports, adding that it has implemented a workaround to minimize disruption.
“There is a long wait at check-in due to technical issues with system providers operating across Europe. We are working on a quick solution,” Berlin Airport said in a banner on its website.
Germany’s largest airport, Frankfurt, was not affected, a spokesperson said. Officials at the Operation Control Centre at Zurich Airport also said they were not affected.
EasyJet said it is currently operating as normal among the largest airlines in Europe and does not expect the issue to affect flights for the rest of the day.
Ryanair and British Airways owner IAG did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
There were no signs of a threat to the Polish airport, said Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Prime Minister Kurzishtov Gaukowski.
British Minister of Transport Heidi Alexander said he was receiving regular updates on the situation.
