• Cyberattack on Collins Aerospace disrupted check-in at Heathrow, Brussels, and Brussels airports.
• Brussels cut half of Monday’s flights, causing long waits and delays.

Air travellers in Europe faced long lines, cancellations, and delays for a second day after hackers targeted Collins Aerospace, a company that supplies check-in and boarding technology to airlines.

The disruption hit some of the continent’s busiest airports, including Heathrow in London, Berlin Brandenburg, and Brussels. The problems were most severe in Brussels, where officials told airlines to cancel half of Monday’s departures because systems weren’t still fully restored.

A spokesperson for Brussels Airport said Collins Aerospace had not yet provided a secure software update needed to bring the system back online.

How the attack unfolded

Collins Aerospace provides the systems that manage check-in and boarding for several airlines around the world. Collins’ parent company, RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies), later confirmed that its MUSE software had been hit by what it described as “cyber-related disruption.”

According to RTX, the attack affected only electronic check-in and baggage drop, with manual operations available as a fallback. In a statement emailed to Reuters, the company said it was working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

Flight cancellations and delays

The impact was felt most strongly in Brussels, where 50 of Sunday’s 257 scheduled departures were cancelled, compared with 25 cancellations the day before. Berlin also reported disruptions, though fewer flights were cancelled there than in Brussels.

At Heathrow, Cirium data showed that 38 departures and 33 arrivals were cancelled in the three airports by mid-morning on Sunday. While Heathrow emphasised that “the vast majority of flights have continued to operate,” the airport also apologised to travellers facing delays and urged passengers to confirm their flight status before leaving home.

Berlin Brandenburg said manual systems were in place but warned passengers of longer waits at check-in and baggage handling. Dublin Airport also confirmed that some airlines in Terminal 2 were using manual workarounds, though it expected to operate a full schedule.

Passengers and airlines respond

The problems forced many passengers back into long queues as airlines switched to slower manual systems. Some travellers reported little impact if they had checked in online, while others without boarding passes faced long waits.

One passenger flying out of Brussels told reporters: “For me, it was business as usual. For those poor souls who didn’t do online check-in or have bags to check, they may be waiting a bit.”

Major carriers not tied to the affected systems, including Ryanair and EasyJet, said their services were operating as normal.

A wider wave of cyberattacks

The Collins Aerospace breach is part of a series of cyber incidents hitting key industries this year. Jaguar Land Rover recently extended a pause in production while investigating an attack that disrupted its operations. British retailer Marks & Spencer said earlier in 2024 that a separate attack cut into profits after halting online sales and leaving food shelves empty.

Charlotte Wilson, head of enterprise at cybersecurity firm Check Point, said aviation is especially vulnerable because it depends heavily on interconnected systems shared in airlines and airports. “It’s a complex environment that criminals know can cause maximum disruption,” she said.

Government and regulator involvement

Authorities in Europe are investigating the source of the hack. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre said it was working with Collins Aerospace, Heathrow, and other airports to assess the impact and restore normal service.

The European Commission said it was monitoring the situation but saw no evidence that the attack was “widespread or severe.” UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander added she was receiving regular updates and keeping close watch on the situation.

The timing of the incident comes only months after a faulty software update from CrowdStrike triggered a global IT crash, grounding flights and underscoring how vulnerable air travel is to digital system failures. Analysts say both incidents highlight how airports rely on a handful of technology providers, creating single points of failure when those systems go offline.

What comes next

For now, airports continue to rely on manual backups while waiting for Collins Aerospace to deliver a secure update. Brussels has warned that delays and cancellations are likely to persist until the system is fully restored. Heathrow and Berlin say most flights are moving again, but officials caution that travellers should plan for longer check-in times.

The attack has once again put the spotlight on the aviation industry’s reliance on digital systems – and the growing risks when those systems are targeted.

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