Brussels Airport has been forced to cancel half of its scheduled departing flights for Monday, as a severe cyberattack continues to cripple its check-in systems. This marks the third consecutive day of travel disruption, impacting not only Brussels but also several other major European airports.
This decision, announced on Sunday, follows reports from Saturday that other significant European hubs like Berlin-Brandenburg, Dublin, and Heathrow had also experienced severe impediments to their check-in and boarding operations due to the same cyberattack.
Given that Brussels Airport seems to be the most severely impacted, officials cited an inability to verify that the compromised check-in and boarding software was “restored and secure” as the primary reason for these cancellations.
Reports from the Associated Press indicate that nearly 140 out of 276 flights scheduled to depart on Monday will be affected by this latest wave of cancellations.
“We advise passengers with a flight to check the status of their flight before coming to the airport and to only come to the airport if their flight has been confirmed,” an airport spokesperson urged in an emailed statement, emphasizing the ongoing uncertainty.
Authorities at Brussels and other impacted airports have attributed the chaos to a cyberattack targeting Collins Aerospace, an American firm specializing in aviation technology and check-in systems. This breach resulted in significantly longer queues and delays for departing travelers.
RTX, the parent company of Collins Aerospace, did not provide an immediate response to inquiries on Sunday. However, a Saturday statement from RTX acknowledged system interference at various airports and assured efforts were underway to “restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible.” The company suggested airports could mitigate issues by reverting to manual check-in procedures.
Over the weekend, Brussels Airport experienced “heavily disrupted” operations, necessitating a shift to manual methods for all check-in and boarding processes.
The full extent of Monday’s disruptions remains uncertain. Early Monday, FlightAware, a prominent flight tracking service, reported average departure delays of 76 minutes at Heathrow and 35 minutes at Dublin Airport, Ireland’s largest.
Requests for comments from representatives of Heathrow, Dublin, and Berlin airports were not immediately returned.
Collins Aerospace, an Iowa-based aviation and defense technology firm, confirmed through its parent company, RTX, that the cyberattack impacted its MUSE software. This passenger-processing system is a cornerstone for approximately 300 airlines operating across 100 airports globally.
RTX clarified that “the impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop,” suggesting core flight operations remained unaffected.
This incident highlights a growing trend of cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure and prominent institutions. Previous incidents include a December cyberattack on Japan Airlines that resulted in significant domestic and international flight delays, and a June breach at Columbia University where a “hacktivist” group reportedly shut down computer systems and stole student data to advance a political agenda.
Additional reporting was contributed by Johnny Diaz.