Cyberattack Disrupts Check-In Systems at Major European Airports/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ A cyberattack on Collins Aerospace’s check-in software disrupted air travel at Brussels, Berlin and London’s Heathrow airports. Passengers faced delays, cancellations, and manual boarding procedures. Officials say the impact is limited but ongoing as teams work to restore full service.
European Airports Cyberattack – Quick Look
- Cyberattack struck check-in and boarding systems on Sept. 19–20.
- Brussels, Berlin Brandenburg, and London Heathrow among affected airports.
- Root cause: Collins Aerospace’s MUSE software outage.
- Brussels Airport: 9 flights canceled, 4 rerouted, 15 delayed.
- Berlin: No major cancellations yet; systems disconnected.
- Heathrow: Minimal disruption, no direct cancellations.
- Impact contained by switching to manual check-in and boarding.
- Collins Aerospace says restoration efforts are underway.
- Company is a subsidiary of RTX Corp. (formerly Raytheon).
Deep Look: Cyberattack Disrupts European Airport Operations
BRUSSELS — A cyberattack targeting check-in and boarding systems created delays and cancellations at several major European airports on Saturday, raising fresh concerns over the vulnerability of global aviation infrastructure.
Authorities said the disruptions primarily affected Brussels Airport, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, and London Heathrow, with temporary outages forcing passengers to check in and board manually. Airports in other parts of Europe reported normal operations.
Brussels Airport reported the heaviest impact. By mid-morning, nine flights had been canceled, four rerouted, and fifteen delayed by at least an hour, spokesperson Ihsane Chioua Lekhli told Belgian broadcaster VTM. “It remains unclear how long the disruptions might last,” she added.
At Berlin Brandenburg, officials cut off connections to the affected systems as a precaution. Axel Schmidt, the airport’s head of communications, said no flights had been canceled specifically due to the cyberattack but warned that “the situation could change.”
London’s Heathrow, Europe’s busiest hub, described the effect as “minimal.” While the airport acknowledged delays linked to the disruption, no cancellations were directly attributed to the incident. Heathrow officials declined to confirm the exact number of affected flights.
Source of the Disruption
The cyberattack targeted Collins Aerospace, an aviation and defense technology company that operates the MUSE (Multi-User System Environment) software. MUSE supports passenger check-in kiosks, boarding pass and bag tag printing, and luggage dispatch.
In a statement, Collins confirmed the incident:
“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual operations. We are actively working to restore full functionality.”
Collins Aerospace is a subsidiary of RTX Corp., formerly known as Raytheon Technologies.
Passengers Advised to Stay Alert
Airports urged travelers to check flight status updates and arrive early to account for possible delays. Many apologized for the inconvenience caused by manual boarding procedures.
Brussels officials initially described a “large impact” on schedules but later stressed that the fallout was contained. Across affected hubs, airlines and airport staff shifted to handwritten boarding passes, longer queues, and manual baggage handling.
Context and Concerns
The incident highlights aviation’s growing cybersecurity challenges. With airports increasingly dependent on automated systems, cyberattacks have the potential to cause cascading disruptions across global travel networks.
While Saturday’s attack appeared limited in scope, security analysts warn that coordinated cyber strikes could have far-reaching economic and safety implications if not quickly contained.
For now, European airports are operational but strained, as cybersecurity experts work to restore and secure systems that millions of passengers rely on daily.
You must Register or Login to post a comment.