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A possible cyber-attack crippled several major European airports on Saturday.
Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled at London’s Heathrow Airport along with terminals in Brussels and Berlin.
The attack targeted Collins Aerospace, an American aviation and defence company that provides systems for several airlines at airports globally.
The firm said it was aware of ‘cyber-related disruption’ to its MUSE passenger handling software and was working to ‘restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible’.
The disruption meant that only manual check-in and boarding was possible.
Long lines at the check-in area of Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4 left passengers queuing near the entrance to the transport hub.
Arguments broke out between passengers waiting in long lines at the check-in area, with one woman shouting at another woman: ‘Get out and stop pushing. Everyone is tired, it’s not an excuse.’
Other passengers are in heated conversations with airport staff, as frustration levels rise at the transport hub because of the delays.
The Liberal Democrats said the Government needs to immediately make a statement on whether Russian involvement is suspected.
Foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller said: ‘After the flagrant violation of Estonian airspace, the Government needs to urgently establish if Vladimir Putin is now attacking our cyber systems.
‘If the Kremlin is behind this attack, causing chaos at our busiest airport, we need to be firm in our response.’
A European Commission spokesperson said there were currently no indications of a ‘widespread or severe attack’ and that the origin of the incident was still under investigation.
These kinds of sweeping outages are typically the result either of ransomware attacks, where online extortionists paralyse corporate networks in the hope of payment, or deliberate digital sabotage.
Rafe Pilling, director of threat intelligence at cybersecurity company Sophos, said the impact of the incident highlighted ‘the fragile and interdependent nature of the digital ecosystem underpinning air travel’.
‘We’ve seen huge impact across retail and currently automotive in the UK this year,’ he said.
‘The threat is significant and very real.’
Several breach-tracking websites have previously said that Collins Aerospace was hit by ransom-seeking hackers in 2023.
The company did not return a message seeking comment on those allegations or details about Saturday’s incident.
RTX, Collins Aerospace’s parent company, said it was aware of a ‘cyber-related disruption’ to the software at selected airports, without naming them.
It did not give any information on who might be behind the attack.
Maria Casey is one of the Heathrow Airport passengers who have had their holidays upended by the chaos.
She arrived over three hours early for her flight to Abu Dhabi with boyfriend Gareth Ford, but ended up waiting to check in her bag for three hours.
She told Metro: ‘We were told there was an error with the system. We were snaking around the queue for three hours, just shuffling. It was three hours in a really small space.’
Maria said the technical problem meant staff were writing out everyone’s baggage tags by hand.
Their Ethiad flight has been delayed until 11.30am, which means they will now miss their connecting flight to Phuket, Thailand.
She added: ‘We don’t know what will happen. We’ll have to see what they do with us. We are cheesed off. It’s not their fault.’
There has been one plus side to the cyberattack – a quick journey through security.
Maria added: ‘All the passengers were so spread out because each was taking five to ten minutes to check in.’
Kim Reisen, a passenger at Berlin Airport, told Reuters: ‘I arrived here at the airport station at about quarter past nine, and we haven’t been told anything except that there was a technical fault.
‘Of course, online you can read that it was probably a cyberattack, and now we’re waiting here to see what happens.’
Another traveller, Siegfried Schwarz, said such an attack was ‘incomprehensible’.
‘I also find it inexplicable that, with today’s technology, there’s no way to defend yourself against something like that.’
Brussels Airport said: ‘There was a cyber attack on Friday night September 19 against the service provider for the check-in and boarding systems affecting several European airports, including Brussels Airport.
‘This means that at the moment only manual check-in and boarding is possible.
‘This has a large impact on the flight schedule and will unfortunately cause delays and cancellations of flights.’
A statement on the Berlin Airport website said there are longer waiting times at check-in.
Collins Aerospace said it is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
It said: ‘We have become aware of a cyber-related disruption to our Muse (Multi-User System Environment) software in select airports.
‘We are actively working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible.
‘The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations.
‘We will share more details as they are available.’
British transport minister Heidi Alexander said she was receiving regular updates on the situation.
Ms Alexander said: ‘I’m aware of an incident affecting airline check-in and boarding, impacting flights at Heathrow and other European airports.
‘I’m getting regular updates and monitoring the situation.
‘If you’re flying at Heathrow today, check with your airline before travelling.’
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled?
According to the Civil Aviation Authority, UK and EU airlines must look after you if your flight is delayed or cancelled.
This includes everything from meals and accommodation to an alternative flight if necessary.
Citizen’s Advice says that airlines should also give impacted passengers access to phone calls and emails and, if they offer you a play to stay, organise the journeys between the hotel and the airport.
Sometimes, the airline will cover this by handing you vouchers at the airport. When in doubt, keep any receipts for expenses and claim them back afterwards from the airliner.
But an airliner will only cough up money for ‘reasonable’ expenses. The hotel minibar or penthouse suites likely can’t be expensed.
If you didn’t book with a UK or EU airline, you’ll need to check their terms and conditions. Though, for the most part, airlines should provide meals and accommodation as appropriate.
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