On Saturday, Flight delays and cancellations have impacted the operations of several of the largest European airports, like the busiest airport on the continent, London Heathrow, after a provider of check-in and boarding systems was targeted by a cyberattack.
The technical problem being faced by Collins Aerospace, which supplies systems to various airlines at airports across the world, may lead to delays in departures by passengers at Heathrow Airport, which had warned of delays.
It was reported that in separate statements, Brussels Airport and Berlin Airport were also affected by the ongoing cyber-attack.
The parent company, RTX of Collins Aerospace, reported that it had experienced a cyber-related interruption to its software at numerous airports, but did not specify which ones.
Affected by Electronic Check-in
RTX replied in an emailed statement, stating that it was endeavoring to rectify the situation as soon as possible: “The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations.”
The cyberattack has left automated systems inoperable, with manual check-in and boarding procedures being the only option, Brussels Airport announced on its webpage. The incident was reported to have taken place on Friday night.
They added, “This has a large impact on the flight schedule and will unfortunately cause delays and cancellations.”
The airport reported that 10 flights had already been cancelled, and all departing flights had an average delay of one hour.
Delta Anticipates a Low Effect
The affected airports advised their passengers with a flight scheduled on Saturday to ensure that they do not travel to the airport without confirming with the airlines.
Delta Air Lines added that it had anticipated a minimum effect on flights out of the three affected airports and that it had put a workaround in place to reduce the impact.
According to the official website of Berlin Airport, it had experienced increased wait times at check-in and was trying to find a fast solution. One of the spokespersons said that the largest airport in Germany, Frankfurt Airport, was not affected.
An operations control center official of Zurich Airport also confirmed that it has not been affected.
EasyJet’s Smooth Functionality
One of the largest airlines in Europe, EasyJet, states that it was operating and functioning normally, and it did not anticipate that the problem would affect its flights throughout the day.
IAG, which owns Ryanair and British Airways, did not respond immediately to comment requests.
Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister of Poland, Krzysztof Gawkowski, said that there were no signs of threats to Polish airports.
British Transport Minister Heidi Alexander added that she was being updated on the situation regularly.
