Cyberattack hits European airports, including Hearthrow
BRUSSELS
Major European airports including Brussels, Berlin and London's Heathrow on Sept. 20 were hit by a cyberattack on check-in systems that caused cancellations and long delays for thousands of passengers.
Dublin and Cork airports in Ireland were also affected.
According to aviation watchdog Eurocontrol, the airports were "reporting disruptions in IT systems related to passenger handling."
At least 10 flights were cancelled out of Brussels Airport and another 17 delayed by over an hour after the system was hit by a "cyberattack", the airport said.
London's Heathrow Airport, the busiest in Europe, said its check-in and boarding systems, also provided by Collins Aerospace, were hit by a "technical issue" that "may cause delays for departing passengers."
The Berlin Airport website read that "due to a technical issue at a system provider operating across Europe, there are longer waiting times at check-in."
Cyberattacks and tech outages have disrupted airports around the world in recent years, from Japan to Germany, as air travel increasingly relies on online, interconnected systems.
Aviation expert Anita Mendiratta, who is also a special adviser to the secretary general of U.N. tourism, told AFP it was difficult to know who was behind the attack.
But she stressed it was "a disruption caused to a software not a specific airport" and it was important to try to "contain the contagion."
The aviation sector saw a 600 percent increase in cyberattacks from 2024 to 2025, according to a report by French aerospace company Thales released in June.
"From airlines and airports to navigation systems and suppliers, every link in the chain is vulnerable to attack," the report warned, pointing out that the strategically and economically important sector had become a "prime target" for cyberattacks.
