European airports work to restore check-in systems after hacking disruption

London: A hacking incident affecting Collins Aerospace, the check-in and boarding systems provider owned by RTX, led to operational disruptions on Saturday at several major European airports, including London’s Heathrow, Berlin Airport, and Brussels.

Passengers at these locations experienced long waits, numerous flight cancellations, and delays, according to a news report.

By early Sunday, the situation had largely improved, though some delays persisted, according to airport representatives and flight data. Meanwhile, local regulatory authorities confirmed they were investigating the source of the hacking incident.

This event is part of a growing pattern of cyber-related disruptions across various industries, including healthcare and automotive. In recent cases, a breach at Jaguar Land Rover halted production lines, and Marks & Spencer suffered financial losses amounting to hundreds of millions of pounds due to a separate incident.

RTX described the event as a “cyber-related disruption,” stating that it had affected its MUSE software, which is utilized by multiple airlines. The company had not provided additional comments as of Sunday.

On Sunday, Berlin Brandenburg Airport reported that issues were ongoing but that efforts were underway with Collins Aerospace to restore full functionality. A manual process was being used in the interim, and there were no widespread delays or cancellations reported.

Brussels Airport informed passengers on Sunday that the cyber disruption continued to significantly affect its flight operations, resulting in ongoing delays and cancellations.

At Heathrow, officials noted that recovery efforts were still in progress following the check-in system failure. However, they emphasized that “the vast majority of flights have continued to operate.”

Flight data analysis by Cirium showed that delays were “low” at Heathrow, “moderate” in Berlin, and “significant” in Brussels, though conditions were steadily improving across all affected airports.