Cyber Attacks: Airports in Europe in Disarray

With Agency Reports

Boarding and check-in systems in a number of European cities went berserk following a cyberattack on Collins Aerospace, a check-in and boarding systems provider early Saturday.

The attacks, which disrupted operations at several major European airports including Heathrow, Europe’s busiest, resulted in flight delays and outright cancellations in some instances.

According to Collins Aerospace, resulting technical issues, ascribed to what it termed “cyber-related disruption” targeted at its software at selected airports, are likely to cause unavoidable delays for departing passengers.

The delays are already manifesting in Heathrow and a number of major European airports, including those in Berlin and Brussels.

Cork and Dublin Airports, Ireland, also announced that they are facing the attacks, with the former describing it as “minor impact”.

Already, 29 out of Heathrow's 651 departures and arrivals have been cancelled while 228 and 226 suffered same fate in Brussels and Berlin respectively.

The attacks are the latest of what is being described as “a string of increasingly sophisticated cyber and ransomware attacks” aimed at governments and companies all over the world, hitting targets including defence and healthcare, with Germany's federal office for information security, the BSI, already in touch with Berlin Airport over what is termed "infrastructure disruptions" arising from the attack.

The attack are said to be limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop, a challenge that can be sorted via manual check-in operations.