Cyberattack Disrupts Air Traffic Across Europe

BRUSSELS – A cyberattack on check-in and boarding systems caused significant disruptions and delays at several major European airports on Saturday, although the initial effects seemed to be somewhat contained.

The problems began at airports including Brussels, Berlin’s Brandenburg, and London’s Heathrow, where only manual check-ins and boarding were possible. Fortunately, many other airports reported no impact on their operations.

On the evening of September 19th, a cyberattack targeted service providers for these systems, particularly affecting Brussels Airport, which initially described it as having a “major impact” on flight schedules.

Brussels Airport clarified that the issue was with the systems managed by providers rather than the airport or airlines themselves.

Collins Aerospace, responsible for helping passengers with check-ins and luggage dispatch, noted “cyber-related confusion” in a “multi-user system environment” across certain airports.

According to Brussels Airport spokesperson Ihsane Chioua Lekhli, nine flights were canceled in the morning, and four were redirected, leading to delays of over 15 hours. It’s currently unclear how long these issues will continue.

In Brandenburg, communication director Axel Schmidt stated that while flights hadn’t been canceled for this reason, the situation could change. Berlin’s airport indicated that they had cut connections to the affected systems.

At Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe, officials said the disruptions were “minimal,” with no direct cancellations linked to the problems at Collins. However, they did not specify the number of delayed flights.

Travelers were advised to check their flight statuses, and apologies were issued for the inconvenience.

Collins, now a part of RTX Corp., is working diligently to restore full functionality to its systems, stating that the impacts are limited to electronic check-ins and baggage drops, which can be managed through manual operations.