Passengers traveling through major European airports, including London’s Heathrow and Berlin’s Brandenburg airport, are facing significant delays and disruptions due to a suspected cyberattack affecting check-in systems. This incident has led to widespread cancellations and frustration among travelers.
Heathrow Airport, the largest and busiest in the UK, announced on Sunday that efforts to recover from the outage were ongoing. They issued an apology to the customers who have faced delays amid these operational challenges. The airport typically sees over 200,000 passengers each day and recorded more than 7.9 million total passenger movements in July alone.
Meanwhile, Berlin airport reported via its website that passengers could expect longer waiting times due to a systems outage. The facility saw 25.5 million passengers in 2024, averaging nearly 70,000 daily.
The aviation sector has been increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks and technical failures in recent years, with incidents affecting airlines worldwide. Notably, Japan Airlines faced a system shutdown, and American Airlines also experienced disruptions in December 2024. Earlier this year, France’s national rail operator encountered suspected sabotage ahead of the Paris Olympics.
As part of the ongoing crisis, Dublin and Cork airports in Ireland noted experiencing minor impacts resulting from a “Europe-wide software issue.” Dublin airport issued a statement advising passengers to contact their airlines for flight updates.
In Belgium, Brussels Airport confirmed at least 10 flight cancellations and 17 delayed flights after disclosing a cyberattack on its systems late Friday. The airport emphasized that the attack targeted an external service provider, which heavily disrupted check-in operations. This situation is expected to result in continued difficulties and cancellations through Sunday, with Eurocontrol, the aviation watchdog, reporting widespread IT system disruptions across multiple airports.
Collins Aerospace, the service provider impacted by the cyber event, acknowledged that the disruptions were limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop systems. They operate in 170 airports globally.
Frustrated passengers at Heathrow expressed concerns about the lack of information regarding the outage. One traveler, a 41-year-old architect, noted the unusual crowding in Terminal 4 and criticized the airport for not providing adequate updates. “If the system is down, they should delay the flight. That’s what I’m hoping,” she remarked while waiting for her Saudia Airlines flight to Jeddah.
Another passenger, waiting for an Air Algerie flight, reported queuing for over an hour to check in, as the airline was handling the process manually due to the systems failure.
Heathrow has faced operational challenges before; earlier this year, a power outage caused by a fire led to a complete shutdown of Europe’s busiest airport, causing chaos for tens of thousands of travelers.
