Some of Europe's biggest airports battled to restore normal operations on Sunday after hackers disrupted automatic check-in systems, with Brussels asking airlines to cancel half of Monday's flight departures due to persistent problems.
Hackers on Friday targeted check-in and boarding systems provider Collins Aerospace, owned by RTX, disrupting operations at London's Heathrow - Europe's busiest airport, Berlin Airport and in Brussels.
Passengers faced long queues, cancellations and delays on Saturday. While the disruption eased significantly in Berlin and Heathrow on Sunday, according to airport officials and data, delays and flight cancellations were continuing.
In a statement early on Monday, Collins said it was working with four impacted airports and airline customers, and was in the final stages of completing the updates needed to restore full functionality.
A spokesperson for Brussels Airport said Collins Aerospace had not yet delivered a secure, updated version of the software necessary to restore full functionality, prompting the airport to seek the flight cancellations on Monday.
Brussels Airport said 50 of Sunday's 257 scheduled departures had been cancelled to avoid long queues and last-minute cancellations. A day earlier, 25 of the planned 234 outgoing flights were cancelled, the airport operator said.
RTX said on Saturday it was working to fix the issue as quickly as possible, and that the disruption could be mitigated with manual check-in operations.
It said the incident had impacted its MUSE software, which is used by several airlines.
One passenger flying from Brussels said the disruption to his journey had been minimal.
"For me, it was business as usual. For those poor souls who didn't do online check-in or have bags to check, they may be waiting a bit," he said.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport said on Sunday some problems persisted but that a manual workaround was in place.
"Occasionally, there are longer waiting times at check-in, boarding, baggage handling and baggage reclaim. Delays to departing flights today are in line with a normal operating day," it said.
Heathrow said early on Sunday that work was continuing to recover from the check-in system outage. It added that "the vast majority of flights have continued to operate".
An analysis by aviation data provider Cirium said delays at Heathrow were "low", Berlin had "moderate" delays, while Brussels had "significant" delays.
Regional regulators said they were investigating the source of the hacking, the latest in a string of hacks to hit sectors from healthcare to autos. A breach at carmaker Jaguar Land Rover halted production, while another caused Marks & Spencer losses in the hundreds of millions of pounds.
The United Nations Security Council is due to meet on Monday over Estonia's accusation that Russian fighter jets violated its airspace at the weekend,...
A nationwide survey in Kazakhstan shows a split opinion on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education, with 40.5% viewing it positively and...
France is spearheading a new stage of international recognition for the State of Palestine, working with European and Asian countries following announ...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 22th of September, covering the latest developments you need t...
Türkiye has terminated additional tariffs imposed in 2018 on U.S. imports ranging from passenger cars to fruits, the country's Official Gazette said ...
The United Nations Security Council is due to meet on Monday over Estonia's accusation that Russian fighter jets violated its airspace at the weekend, diplomats said.
A nationwide survey in Kazakhstan shows a split opinion on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education, with 40.5% viewing it positively and 37.4% seeing it as a threat to learning quality, according to the Institute of Public Policy reported in The Astana Times.
France is spearheading a new stage of international recognition for the State of Palestine, working with European and Asian countries following announcements by Britain, Canada, Australia, and Portugal.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 22th of September, covering the latest developments you need to know.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
Hong Kong International Airport will suspend all passenger flights for 36 hours from Tuesday evening, Qantas Airways said, as the Asian financial hub prepares for one of its strongest super typhoons in years.
Passengers were left stranded at Europe’s major airports after a cyberattack targeted check-in and boarding systems on Friday, airport authorities say.
KLM, the Dutch arm of airline group Air France, will cancel 100 flights on Wednesday after ground crew announced a two-hour strike, a spokesperson for KLM said on Tuesday, confirming a report by Dutch News Agency ANP.
Air Canada is set to resume its flight services on 20 August, after a nearly four-day strike by its unionized flight attendants left more than 500,000 passengers stranded.
Türkiye’s low-cost carrier AJet, a branch of Turkish Airlines, will launch its first-ever direct flights from Ankara to Barcelona and Madrid this October.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment