European air travel faced significant disruption recently when a major cyberattack crippled check-in and boarding systems across the continent, affecting prominent hubs like London’s Heathrow Airport. Authorities confirmed the incident, which led to widespread flight delays and operational chaos.
At Brussels Airport, the severity of the attack meant that all passenger processing had to revert to manual methods, causing substantial impacts on flight schedules and creating long queues.
An official statement revealed that the cyberattack occurred on Friday evening, targeting a service provider responsible for critical check-in and boarding infrastructure used by numerous European airports, including Brussels.
Similarly, Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport reported that a provider of passenger handling systems was compromised the same Friday evening. In response, airport operators had to immediately disconnect from the affected systems to prevent further damage.
Europe’s busiest airport, London Heathrow, also confirmed a ‘technical issue’ impacting a key service provider for its check-in and boarding processes. The provider, Collins Aerospace, which supports numerous airlines worldwide, indicated that this technical issue could lead to significant delays for departing passengers.
All affected airports urged travelers to frequently check their flight statuses and extended apologies for the inconvenience caused by these unforeseen disruptions.