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Major cyberattack hits European airports causing flight chaos

Major cyberattack disrupts European airports including Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin, forcing manual check-ins and causing massive flight delays and cancellations.

Major cyberattack hits European airports causing flight chaos
World
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European transportation suffered a severe blow this morning after a cyberattack disabled automated systems for check-in and boarding at airports in Brussels, London’s Heathrow, and Berlin, causing “horrific” queues and overcrowding. According to Brussels Airport, the only possible operation was manual check-in procedures. Specifically, as stated on the airport’s official website: “This has a huge impact on the flight schedule and will unfortunately cause flight delays and cancellations.” “The service provider is actively working on this issue and trying to resolve the problem as soon as possible,” they added.

Read: Cyberattack on major European airports: Problems in Brussels, London, Berlin

Cyberattack: Major delays at airports

Meanwhile, London’s Heathrow airport also warned of delays due to a “technical issue” with a third-party provider. It should be noted that passengers with flights scheduled for today are advised by airports facing this issue to confirm that their flight will operate by contacting their airlines before traveling to the airport. Berlin airport also states on its website that “due to a technical issue with a system provider operating in Europe, there is a longer waiting time at check-in” and adds: “We are working for a quick resolution” of the issue. Frankfurt Airport has not been affected by this cyber attack, according to a spokesperson.

London: “The queues are horrific”

“The queues are horrific. Out of six desks there were probably two people” passenger Maria Casey told SkyNews, who arrived at Heathrow airport on Saturday morning (20/9) to travel to Thailand, but had to wait three hours to check in her luggage at the terminal. “When we were in the queue, no one was informing us, so we ended up waiting three hours in the queue (…) and no one was telling us what was happening,” she reports. “But then I saw the breaking news and thought: okay, cyberattack,” she notes, while adding that it took 5-10 minutes to check each person because everything had to be done manually.

It is emphasized that the attack targets a service provider for check-in and boarding systems, which is called Collins Aerospace according to Heathrow airport. “Please if you have scheduled a long-haul flight do not arrive earlier than three hours before that flight or correspondingly two hours before a domestic flight. You will find our colleagues available in the check-in areas to help you and minimize disruption,” states the major British airport in its announcement, according to the Independent newspaper.

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