A cyberattack targeting a United States-based technology provider caused widespread delays at major European airports on Saturday, grounding flights and forcing airlines to shift to manual check-in procedures. Heathrow Airport in London reported that a “technical issue” impacted systems used for passenger check-ins and boarding.
Similar disruptions were confirmed in Brussels and Berlin.
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Authorities at Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport said the systems went down Friday evening after a cyberattack affected their service provider. In response, operators disconnected digital networks as a precaution.
The affected systems are operated by Collins Aerospace, a U.S. company that supplies airports with self-service kiosks for check-in, boarding pass printing and baggage drop-off.
“At the beginning, you’re kind of like, ‘What’s going on?’” said Tereza Pultarova, a passenger en route to Cape Town. “You want to understand, you’re annoyed. And now I think people just accept what’s happening. At least we know now what’s going on.”
Some passengers expressed frustration over a lack of communication from airline staff.
“Been here, what, eight hours now,” said Sam Auld, who was trying to help his girlfriend catch a flight to Brazil. “There’s been no organization, nobody’s told us anything. We’ve had to cherry-pick what little information we can find.”
Not all major airports were affected. Paris authorities reported no outages or delays linked to the cyberattack.
An investigation into the breach is ongoing.
