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 States and Iran have traded fresh strikes, with the U.S. hitting military sites and Iran launching missiles and drones at bases and ship...
Georgia and the European Union have held their first working-level talks in Brussels following the EU's decision to suspend visa-free travel for holde...
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk have criticised Britain, France and Germany for leaving them out of talks...
Türkiye has condemned a defence agreement signed this week between France and Southern Cyprus, describing it as a threat to regional stability and th...
Legions of security officers and police are being deployed for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as organisers prepare for what officials describe as an unprece...
The United States and Iran have traded fresh strikes, with the U.S. hitting military sites and Iran launching missiles and drones at bases and ships near the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping remains active, but tensions are rising as calls grow for restraint and renewed talks.
Georgia and the European Union have held their first working-level talks in Brussels following the EU's decision to suspend visa-free travel for holders of Georgian diplomatic, service and official passports.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk have criticised Britain, France and Germany for leaving them out of talks with Russia about a potential future peace deal for Ukraine.
Legions of security officers and police are being deployed for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as organisers prepare for what officials describe as an unprecedented security challenge to protect fans, players and venues across North America.
Mexico and South Africa meet in Thursday’s World Cup opener in Mexico City, with both teams approaching the match from very different positions but facing their own pressures.
SpaceX has made history with the largest initial public offering ever in the United States, pricing its shares at $135 each and achieving a market valuation of $1.77 trillion.
U.S. Donald Trump has said he has cancelled planned strikes on Iranian oil and gas ports announced earlier on Thursday. Trump said he made the decision after senior leadership in Iran agreed to peace talks.
While France hosts next week’s Group of Seven summit, businesses in neighbouring Switzerland have already begun taking precautions, with many shops in Geneva boarded up ahead of a large anti-G7 demonstration expected on Sunday.
Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has found that xAI’s Grok chatbot and its parent company X Corp. violated federal privacy law by launching an AI image-generation tool without adequate safeguards, enabling the creation and distribution of non-consensual sexualised deepfakes.
Tourism operators in eastern Latvia say repeated incursions by stray military drones linked to the war in Ukraine are driving visitors away from one of the country's most popular summer destinations, threatening hundreds of small businesses that rely on seasonal trade.
TUI has reported sustained demand for holidays despite the Iran war, as the world’s biggest travel company posted lower-than-expected quarterly losses and said bookings for the second half of the year remained strong.
Travellers worried about costs and flights by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East are changing their summer holiday plans, with lastminute bookings, safer destinations such as Spain, and rail travel all growing in popularity.
A Turkish Airlines plane caught fire in its landing gear tyres after landing at Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday (11 May) morning, temporarily disrupting airport operations, officials said.
ITA Airways is preparing to raise ticket prices by between 5% and 10% this year as soaring fuel costs linked to the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the U.S. continue to pressure airlines worldwide.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment