Background on the Incident
On Friday night, a cyberattack affected the passenger and baggage registration systems at several European airports, leading to flight cancellations and significant delays for thousands of travelers over the weekend.
Key Airports Affected
- Brussels Airport: Nearly a quarter of the scheduled departures for Sunday were canceled, with 45 out of 257 flights affected. Six flights were diverted, and delays ranged from 30 to 90 minutes.
- Heathrow Airport (London): Despite the cyberattack, “the vast majority of flights” continued to operate thanks to collaboration with airlines.
- Dublin Airport: The airport reported that operations were expected to return to normal throughout the day.
Response and Impact
On Saturday, affected airports urged passengers to contact their airlines and arrive early for flights due to manual registration procedures.
Collins Aerospace, the company responsible for the affected MUSE program, acknowledged a cyber-origin disruption impacting customer electronic registration and baggage handling. They stated they were working to resolve the issue “as soon as possible.” Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of US aerospace and defense group RTX (formerly Raytheon), provides data processing services in the aviation sector across 170 airports worldwide.
Visual Evidence
Images captured by AFP on Saturday showed long lines forming at baggage check-in counters at Brussels Airport and Heathrow, the main international airport in London.
Air Traffic Control
Eurocontrol, the European air traffic management organization, reported that there were no air traffic control restrictions across Europe due to the incident.
Key Questions and Answers
- What was the cause of the disruption? A cyberattack affected the MUSE program provided by Collins Aerospace, impacting electronic customer registration and baggage handling.
- Which airports were affected? Brussels Airport, Heathrow Airport (London), and Dublin Airport experienced significant disruptions.
- How did airports respond to the issue? Airports urged passengers to contact their airlines early and arrive with extra time for manual registration procedures.
- Who is responsible for the affected systems? Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of RTX, provides the MUSE program used by several European airports for customer registration and baggage handling.
- Were there any air traffic control restrictions? No, Eurocontrol reported that there were no air traffic control restrictions across Europe due to the cyberattack.
