Cyberattack Disrupts Check-In at Major European Airports

LONDON- A cyberattack disrupted check-in systems at major European airports, including London Heathrow (LHR), Berlin Brandenburg (BER), and Brussels Airport (BRU). Passengers faced chaos as staff shifted to manual processes.

The breach hit the Colin Rockwell Muse system from Collins Aerospace, a US-based provider of aviation technology. While some airlines avoided disruption, flight schedules suffered delays and cancellations.

British Airways Check In; Photo- Mikano | Wikimedia Commons

Cyberattack at Major European Airports

Collins Aerospace supplies critical services like cockpit systems and air traffic control. Its Colin Rockwell Muse platform handles check-in for multiple airlines at affected sites.

At London Heathrow (LHR), this system serves as one of two primary options; airlines using Amadeus, such as British Airways (BA), continued operations unaffected.

Brussels Airport (BRU) confirmed the cyberattack on the third-party vendor as the cause. Airport officials noted a large impact on schedules, leading to delays and cancellations.

They stated the provider works urgently to resolve the issue, though no timeline emerged by Saturday morning.

London Heathrow described the problem as a technical issue without specifics. Collins Aerospace provided no public comment on the outage.

Workarounds linked other departure systems to the affected program, minimizing broader fallout at Heathrow.

The Colin Rockwell Muse system integrates deeply into airport operations. According to PYOK, experts link such incidents to social engineering tactics, where criminals trick IT staff into granting access. This method corrupts files and extracts data without complex coding.

IT specialists warned the aviation sector months ago about rising threats. Hackers target airlines and vendors through persuasion rather than brute force. These attacks prioritize unauthorized entry over technical exploits.

Photo: Skytrax

Recent Aviation Cyber

In July, the FBI pointed to the ‘Scattered Spider’ group for breaches at carriers like Hawaiian Airlines (HA), WestJet (WS), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL), and Qantas (QF).

Those hacks accessed non-operational systems, stealing limited customer data but sparing flight controls.

Last year, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport endured a ransomware attack from the Rhysida group.

The incident disabled check-in, baggage handling, and display screens for days. Officials rejected the ransom demand and vowed enhanced IT security.

Terminal 5; Photo- Arne Müseler | Wikimedia Commons

Industry Response

Airports now prioritize rapid manual shifts during outages. Brussels Airport (BRU) urged passengers to check updates via their website. Heathrow (LHR) expected Collins Aerospace to deliver fixes soon, though details remained pending.

Aviation leaders stress multi-vendor strategies to reduce single-point failures. Enhanced training counters social engineering, a key vector in modern threats.

Officials commit to stronger defenses, drawing lessons from past events like Seattle-Tacoma.

Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.

Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News

The post Cyberattack Disrupts Check-In at Major European Airports appeared first on Aviation A2Z.