European airport disruption continues after weekend cyber-attack

European airport disruption continues after weekend cyber-attack

Continued flight disruption is expected across Europe, with Brussels Airport in Belgium instructing airlines to cancel nearly half of their flights on Monday. After a cyber-attack on Friday disrupted automatic check-in and boarding software at several of Europe’s busiest airports, efforts have been made to restore normal operations. While Berlin and London Heathrow have seen some improvement in disruption levels by Sunday, delays and cancellations persist. Software provider Collins Aerospace stated on Monday morning that necessary software updates were nearing completion.

Brussels Airport mentioned that the “service provider is actively addressing the issue,” but the timeline for resolution remains unclear. Approximately 140 of the 276 outbound flights scheduled for Monday have been asked to be cancelled by airlines, as reported by the AP news agency. Heathrow Airport acknowledged on Sunday that work to resolve the issue was ongoing and apologized to affected travelers. Despite the situation, “the vast majority of flights have continued to operate,” according to Heathrow, who advised passengers to verify their flight status before heading to the airport.

Around half of the airlines operating from Heathrow had some form of online functionality restored by Sunday, including British Airways, which resorted to a backup system on Saturday. A Berlin Airport spokesperson informed the BBC that some airlines were still manually boarding passengers, and there was no indication of how long the electronic outage would persist. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, in collaboration with Collins Aerospace, impacted UK airports, the Department for Transport, and law enforcement, is actively investigating the incident to comprehend its impact.

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed awareness of the situation, receiving regular updates and monitoring developments. The European Commission, responsible for managing airspace in Europe, is closely monitoring the cyber-attack, though it has not been classified as widespread or severe. A recent report by French aerospace company Thales disclosed a 600% increase in cyberattacks within the aviation sector over the past year

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