Hundreds of thousands of passengers faced flight delays on Sunday after a cyber-attack hit check-in desk software at Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin airports. The attack targeted Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in technology to various airlines, forcing carriers to revert to slower manual check-ins from Friday night.
Brussels airport asked airlines to cancel half of Monday’s departing flights, citing that Collins had not yet delivered a secure version of the check-in system. At Heathrow, 90% of over 350 flights were delayed by 15 minutes or more, though the airport expects most flights to operate on Monday. Berlin airport reported 73% of flights delayed, advising passengers to use online check-in.
Collins Aerospace acknowledged a “cyber-related incident” affecting its Muse software used for electronic check-in and baggage drop. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre said it was working with Collins, airports and law enforcement to assess the impact.
Dublin airport also reported delays due to the attack. Collins is owned by the US-listed RTX, one of the world’s largest aerospace conglomerates. The incident adds to a series of cyber-attacks on major companies, including Jaguar Land Rover and retailers Marks & Spencer and the Co-op.
