By Tom Ozimek
A cyberattack targeting check-in and boarding systems disrupted air traffic at several of Europe’s busiest airports on Sept. 20, forcing staff to revert to manual procedures and leaving passengers facing long lines, delays, and some cancellations.
The disruptions, which began late Friday, initially hit Brussels Airport, Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport, and London’s Heathrow Airport—Europe’s busiest hub. By mid-day Saturday, the fallout appeared to be limited, but officials cautioned that delays could persist until systems were restored.
“There was a cyberattack on Friday night, September 19, against the service provider for the check-in and boarding systems affecting several European airports, including Brussels Airport,” Brussels Airport said in a statement. The airport reported a “large impact” on flight schedules, with flights cancelled, delayed, or diverted.
Brussels Airport spokesperson Ihsane Chioua Lekhli told local broadcaster VTM that by mid-morning, nine flights had been canceled, four were redirected to other airports, and 15 were delayed by at least an hour.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport also reported disruption, though officials described the impact as limited.
“We don’t have any flights canceled due to this specific reason, but that could change,” Axel Schmidt, the airport’s head of communications, said.
The airport said it had cut connections to the affected systems while operators worked on a fix.
At Heathrow, the disruption was described as “minimal,” with no flight cancellations directly linked to the attack.
“While the provider works to resolve the problem quickly, we advise passengers to check their flight status with their airline before traveling,” Heathrow said in a post on X.
The airport asked passengers not to arrive earlier than three hours before long-haul flights or two hours before domestic departures and said extra staff had been deployed to assist.
Officials said the disruption did not strike airlines themselves but instead hit their technology provider, Collins Aerospace—a U.S.-based aviation and defense company under RTX Corp., formerly Raytheon Technologies.
RTX confirmed it had become aware of a “cyber-related disruption” affecting the software at selected airports, though it did not specify which ones.
“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations,” the company told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
“We are actively working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible.”
Airports urged passengers with flights on Saturday to confirm departure details with their airlines before leaving home.
Delta Air Lines, which operates at several affected airports, said it had implemented a workaround and expected minimal impact to its flights. EasyJet said its operations were unaffected. Germany’s largest hub, Frankfurt Airport, was unaffected.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski said on X that there were no indications of threats to Polish airports, but that the country’s security services are monitoring the situation closely.
British Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander said she was receiving regular updates on the disruption.
“I’m aware of an incident affecting airline check-in and boarding, impacting flights at Heathrow and other European airports,” she wrote on X.
“I’m getting regular updates and monitoring the situation. If you’re flying at Heathrow today, check with your airline before travelling.”
At the time of reporting, it remained unclear who was behind the attack, how access was gained, or how long it would take for Collins Aerospace to fully restore its systems. RTX said it was continuing to investigate and would share more details as they became available.
Governments and security agencies have in recent months warned of heightened risks of cyberattacks—in some cases state-sponsored—on critical infrastructure, with U.S. agencies including the FBI and the National Security Agency flagging aviation and the transportation sector among potential targets.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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