Passengers across multiple European airports, including London Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin, continue to face delays and cancellations following a cyber-related disruption that affected Collins Aerospace, a key service provider for check-in and boarding systems worldwide.
The incident, which began Friday night, forced airlines to revert to manual check-in and boarding procedures, causing long queues and confusion at terminals. Heathrow Airport reported that Terminal 4 was particularly affected, while British Airways operations at Terminal 5 continued as normal.
Heathrow issued a statement urging passengers to:
- Check their flight status with airlines before travelling.
- Arrive no earlier than three hours before long-haul flights or two hours before domestic flights.
The airport added that additional staff were deployed to assist passengers and minimize disruption. On Saturday, about 14 flights were cancelled at Heathrow, with several more delayed, although not all were confirmed to be directly caused by the technical issue.
Brussels Airport confirmed the cyber attack, noting that only manual check-in and boarding were possible and warning that cancellations and delays could extend into Sunday. Berlin Airport similarly reported increased wait times at check-in.
Collins Aerospace acknowledged the problem, stating:
“We have become aware of a cyber-related disruption to our Muse software in select airports. We are actively working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality. The impact is limited to electronic check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual operations.”
The European Commission is monitoring the situation, in coordination with EUROCONTROL, ENISA, airports, and airlines. Officials confirmed that air traffic control and aviation safety remain unaffected, and the attack does not appear to be widespread or critical.
