Cyberattack Strands Thousands of Passengers in UK, EU Airports

A cyberattack on a key provider of airline check-in and boarding systems disrupted operations at major European airports on Saturday, delaying and canceling flights across the continent, Sabine Siebold, Christoph Steitz and Muvija M reported for Reuters.

London’s Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, confirmed delays due to a technical issue affecting systems supplied by Collins Aerospace.

London’s Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, confirmed delays due to a technical issue affecting systems supplied by Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in and boarding platforms to airlines worldwide.

Brussels Airport and Berlin Airport reported similar disruptions. Later in the day, Dublin Airport and Cork Airport in Ireland also said they were affected, though only to a minor degree.

RTX, Collins Aerospace’s parent company, said it was aware of a “cyber-related disruption” to its MUSE software at selected airports, without specifying which.

“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations,” the company said in an emailed statement, adding that it was working to restore systems as quickly as possible.

RTX did not say who might be behind the attack.

At Heathrow, Berlin and Brussels, 29 departures and arrivals were canceled by midday, according to aviation data provider Cirium. Heathrow had 651 departures scheduled Saturday, Brussels 228, and Berlin 226.