Travellers are experiencing continued disruption at several European airports, including Heathrow, due to a cyber-attack that has crippled check-in and baggage systems. The incident, which began on Saturday, led to hundreds of flight delays and cancellations, forcing some airports to resort to manual check-in processes.
Brussels Airport has indicated that it has no immediate timeline for restoring the affected system and has requested airlines to cancel approximately half of their departing flights. RTX, the parent company of the software provider Collins Aerospace, confirmed awareness of a “cyber-related disruption” affecting its systems at select airports and is working towards a swift resolution.
The affected software, known as Muse, facilitates the shared use of check-in desks and boarding gates among various airlines at an airport, eliminating the need for individual airline systems. The exact cause of the failure and its duration remain undisclosed.
Heathrow Airport has confirmed that efforts to resolve the issue are ongoing and has apologized for the inconvenience caused to passengers. While acknowledging the delays, the airport stated that the majority of flights are still operating and advised passengers to verify their flight status and arrive at the airport well in advance.
British Airways is reportedly operating normally at Heathrow by utilizing a backup system, but most other airlines serving the airport have been impacted. On Saturday, flight tracker FlightAware reported that approximately 47% of Heathrow’s departing flights experienced delays, leading to lengthy queues and the deployment of additional staff to manage the situation.
Passengers recounted experiences of multi-hour waits for check-in, with some airlines processing passengers over the phone. The disruption has also led to missed connecting flights for some travelers.
Brussels Airport is continuing manual check-in procedures on Sunday and has increased staff presence to mitigate further disruptions. So far, 44 flights have been canceled, and the airport anticipates ongoing queues and delays. Eurocontrol, the European aviation safety organization, has advised airlines to reduce their flight schedules to and from the airport by half until Monday morning.
Dublin Airport, while experiencing persistent technical issues with manual check-ins, expects to maintain its full flight schedule. Passengers are advised to contact their airlines directly for the latest flight updates. Cork Airport, also affected by the cyber-attack, has reported no disruptions, with all services running as usual.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport is encouraging passengers to use online or self-service check-in options to bypass the desks during the outage. While 12 cancellations occurred on Saturday, delays were generally kept under 45 minutes.
Major European airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair, which do not operate from Heathrow, have reported normal operations. The incident underscores the vulnerability of the aviation industry to digital system failures, a concern highlighted by a previous global IT crash in July caused by a faulty software update.