Flights have been disrupted at major European airports including Heathrow after a cyber attack targeted Collins Aerospace, a key provider of check-in and boarding systems. The technical incident has forced airlines to resort to manual check-in processes, causing significant delays and cancellations.
London Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin airports are all experiencing substantial disruption following the attack on Collins Aerospace, which provides systems for multiple airlines across numerous global airports. The company's Muse software system has been compromised, affecting electronic check-in and baggage drop services.
Heathrow has advised passengers to verify their flight status before travelling to the west London airport. The airport recommends arriving no earlier than three hours before long-haul flights or two hours before domestic flights, with additional staff deployed to assist passengers during the disruption.
Passenger experiences major delays
Freelance journalist Tereza Pultarova faced hours of delays at Heathrow's Terminal 4 whilst attempting to catch a KLM flight to Amsterdam for an onward connection to Cape Town. She arrived at 4.30am for a 6.30am departure but encountered extremely slow manual check-in processes.
"We were kind of stranded here because the weird thing is, KLM wasn't able to issue us boarding passes digitally, and requested us to collect them at the check-in desk," Pultarova told PA Media. The manual system processed passengers at approximately one person every ten minutes, with only around 20 passengers checked in before the flight gate closed.
Pultarova was eventually rebooked onto a 3.30pm flight, meaning she would miss her Amsterdam connection and potentially her work assignment to visit telescopes in South Africa's Karoo Desert. "I'm a freelance journalist, so it's causing me loss of income," she said.
Airports respond to crisis
Brussels Airport confirmed the cyber attack occurred on Friday night, affecting multiple European airports. The Belgian airport stated that only manual check-in and boarding operations are currently possible, causing significant flight schedule disruptions and advising passengers to confirm flights before travelling.
Berlin Airport acknowledged longer waiting times at check-in due to the technical issue affecting the Europe-wide system provider. Collins Aerospace said it is actively working to restore full functionality, confirming the impact is limited to electronic customer services that can be mitigated through manual operations.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates about the incident affecting airline operations at Heathrow and other European airports. She advised Heathrow passengers to check with their airlines before travelling.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
