Cyberattack Disrupts Check-In Systems Across Major European Airports
Flights were delayed and some cancelled on Saturday after a cyberattack struck a key provider of airline check-in and boarding software, disrupting operations at several major European hubs—including London’s Heathrow, the continent’s busiest airport.
The incident stems from a technical failure at Collins Aerospace, whose systems support passenger processing for multiple airlines worldwide. Heathrow Airport confirmed the outage and warned travellers to expect delays on departing flights.
Collins Aerospace’s parent company acknowledged what it described as a “cyber-related disruption” affecting its software at several airports, though it did not name specific locations. The company said teams were working to restore normal service as quickly as possible.
Brussels Airport reported that the attack, which began Friday night, disabled its automated check-in and boarding systems, forcing airlines to process passengers manually. Eurocontrol, Europe’s aviation safety agency, requested that airlines cut half of their scheduled flights to and from Brussels between 04:00 and 12:00 GMT to ease congestion.
According to flight-tracking service FlightAware, by 11:30 BST Saturday there were roughly 140 delays at Heathrow, about 100 in Brussels, and more than 60 in Berlin.
India’s Delhi Airport also advised passengers traveling to or from Europe to monitor their flight status closely, citing potential knock-on delays.
Airports and airlines continue to work on contingency plans while cybersecurity teams investigate the breach and attempt to bring affected systems back online.
