Ongoing Disruptions Continue at European Airports After Cyber-Attack

Tue Oct 14 2025 23:42:50 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

European airports are grappling with continued disruptions following a major cyber-attack that affected flight operations across the continent. Airports like Brussels, Heathrow, and Berlin face significant delays as software systems are still being restored.

Flight disruptions persist in multiple European airports after a cyber-attack targeted automatic check-in systems. Brussels Airport has reduced flight schedules, while Heathrow and Berlin continue to face delays as software recovery efforts are underway. The incident highlights increasing cyber threats within the aviation sector.

Flight disruption across Europe is set to continue, with Brussels airport in Belgium asking airlines to cancel nearly half of their flights on Monday.

Several of Europe's busiest airports have spent the past few days trying to restore normal operations after a cyber-attack on Friday disrupted their automatic check-in and boarding software.

While disruption eased significantly in Berlin and London Heathrow by Sunday, delays and flight cancellations remained a challenge.

In a statement, software provider Collins Aerospace reported that it was near completing the necessary software updates to resolve the issues.

Brussels Airport noted that the service provider is actively addressing the situation, although it remains unclear when full operations will resume. They have requested airlines to cancel nearly 140 of their 276 scheduled outbound flights for Monday, according to the AP news agency.

Heathrow expressed ongoing efforts to rectify the issues and apologized to customers who experienced delayed travel. They indicated that the majority of flights were still operating, urging passengers to verify their flight status.

By Sunday, about half of the airlines at Heathrow had returned to some form of operation, including British Airways, which relied on a backup system since Saturday.

A representative from Berlin Airport stated that some airlines continued to board passengers manually, and they had no insights into the duration of the electronic outage.

A spokesperson for the UK's National Cyber Security Centre indicated they were collaborating with Collins Aerospace, affected UK airports, the Department for Transport, and law enforcement to assess the impact of the incident.

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander mentioned she was monitoring the situation closely. The European Commission is also observing the cyber-attack, noting that there is no sign of it being widespread or severe.

Cyberattacks in the aviation sector have surged by 600% over the past year, as highlighted in a recent report by French aerospace company Thales.