Major Cyberattack Cripples European Airports, Causes Flight Cancellations and Passenger Chaos Across UK and Belgium
A massive cyberattack on Collins Aerospace systems disrupted airport operations across Europe, forcing flight cancellations and delays. UK, Belgium, and other countries witnessed chaos as thousands of passengers were stranded.
National News: Several major European airports, including London's Heathrow, Brussels, Belgium, and Berlin, Germany, were hit by cyber attacks on Saturday. The attacks targeted Collins Airspace, a company that provides services related to check-in and boarding systems.
The cyberattack resulted in numerous flight cancellations, flight operations being delayed, and thousands of passengers experiencing inconvenience. Several European airports have advised passengers to check their flight status. Airlines have apologized to passengers for the inconvenience.
Manual check-in facility continues
Brussels Airport said in a statement that the attack meant only manual check-in and boarding were possible. Officials at Berlin's Brandenburg Airport said a service provider for its passenger handling system was also attacked, forcing airport operators to disconnect the system. Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, described it as a technical issue. The airport said it had affected check-in and boarding system services.
Heathrow issued a statement saying, "The company providing check-in and boarding system services at many airports around the world is experiencing a technical problem. This may cause delays for departing passengers." Meanwhile, France said the impact of the cyber attack was felt only at a few airports. There were no problems at Paris's Roissy, Orly, and Le Bourget airports.
Which service provider was attacked?
The cyberattack has hit the portal of Collins Aerospace, an American aviation and defense technology company. It is a subsidiary of RTX Corp., formerly Raytheon Technologies. The company stated that it does not provide direct passenger check-in, but rather develops technology that allows passengers to check in themselves at kiosk machines, print boarding passes and baggage tags, and deliver their own luggage.
The company said, "We have become aware of a cyber issue with our MUSE software at select airports. This has only affected electronic check-in and baggage collection, but this issue can be mitigated by reverting to manual check-in."
