In brief
A cyber-attack targeting automatic check-in and boarding services has led to significant flight disruptions across key European airports. Brussels airport has requested airlines to cancel nearly half of Monday's outbound flights, while other busy airports like London Heathrow and Berlin are still working to restore normal operations. Collins Aerospace, the software provider involved, is finalizing updates to address the issue as the broader impact of the attack is assessed.
Flight disruption across Europe is set to continue, with Brussels airport in Belgium asking airlines to cancel nearly half of their flights on Monday.
Several of Europe's busiest airports have spent the past few days trying to restore normal operations after a cyber-attack on Friday disrupted their automatic check-in and boarding software.
Disruption had eased significantly in Berlin and London Heathrow by Sunday, but delays and flight cancellations remained.
In a statement on Monday morning, software provider Collins Aerospace said it was in the final stages of completing necessary software updates.
Brussels Airport said the service provider is actively working on the issue but it was still unclear when the issue would be resolved. They have asked airlines to cancel nearly 140 of their 276 scheduled outbound flights for Monday, according to the AP news agency.
Heathrow said efforts to resolve the issue were ongoing and apologized to customers who had faced delayed travel. It stressed the vast majority of flights have continued to operate and urged passengers to check their flight status before traveling to the airport. The BBC understands about half of the airlines flying from Heathrow were back online in some form by Sunday, including British Airways, which has been using a back-up system since Saturday.
A Berlin Airport spokesperson told the BBC some airlines were still boarding passengers manually, and it had no indication on how long the electronic outage would last.
A spokesperson for the UK's National Cyber Security Centre said on Saturday it was working with Collins Aerospace, affected UK airports, the Department for Transport, and law enforcement to fully understand the impact of the incident. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates.
The European Commission, which manages airspace across Europe, is closely monitoring the cyber-attack, but there are no indications of it being widespread or severe. Cyberattacks in the aviation sector have increased by 600% over the past year, according to a recent report by French aerospace company Thales.
