A significant cyber attack has thrown major European travel hubs into disarray, causing widespread disruption for thousands of passengers. The IT systems failure, which is being treated as a malicious digital assault, has severely impacted operations at London Heathrow and Brussels Zaventem Airport.
Passengers faced lengthy delays, cancelled flights, and mounting frustration as check-in and baggage handling systems were brought to a standstill. The technical meltdown began in the early hours of the morning and quickly escalated, creating a domino effect of scheduling chaos.
Critical Systems Offline
Airport authorities confirmed that the core IT infrastructure responsible for passenger processing was the primary target. This sophisticated attack prevented airlines from checking travellers in, printing boarding passes, and managing baggage logistics efficiently.
Heathrow, one of the world's busiest international airports, was forced to implement manual processing procedures. This led to significantly slower processing times, resulting in long, snaking queues throughout its terminals.
Cross-Channel Impact
The incident underscores the interconnected nature of European air travel. The disruption at Brussels, a key EU hub, had a knock-on effect, causing delays for flights scheduled to depart to and from other major airports across the continent.
Cybersecurity experts have been drafted in to contain the breach and restore full functionality. An investigation is underway to determine the origin and nature of the attack, with early reports suggesting it was a coordinated ransomware campaign.
Travelers are urgently advised to check their flight status directly with their airline before heading to the airport and to allow for extra time for all procedures.
