London: Air travellers are bracing for another day of disruptions at several European airports, including Heathrow, following a cyber-attack that incapacitated a crucial check-in and baggage system. This attack has led to significant delays, with airports resorting to manual methods to board passengers.
According to BBC, the cyber-attack, which occurred on Saturday, resulted in hundreds of delays as the software used by multiple airlines failed. At Brussels Airport, officials stated they had "no indication yet" on when the system would be restored and subsequently requested airlines to cancel half of their departing flights. Meanwhile, Heathrow Airport announced on Sunday that efforts to resolve the issue were ongoing. Although the airport apologized for the inconvenience, it emphasized that "the vast majority of flights have continued to operate," urging passengers to verify their flight status before heading to the airport and to arrive early.
British Airways, as understood by the BBC, has managed to continue operations at Heathrow by utilizing a backup system. However, many other airlines servicing the airport have been affected by the outage. On Saturday, nearly 47% of Heathrow's departing flights experienced delays, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Additional staff were deployed in check-in areas to help alleviate the disruption.
The cyber-attack has impacted numerous passengers, including Naomi Rowan from Sudbury in Suffolk. Naomi was planning to move to Costa Rica with her dog Dusty, but both are currently staying in a hotel after their Air France flight from Heathrow was affected. She expressed her frustration, noting that staff were forced to board passengers using pen and paper and were unable to board her pet without the electronic system.
At Brussels Airport, manual check-ins are set to continue, with extra staff brought in to mitigate the disruption. The airport reported that 44 departing flights had been canceled on Sunday, and it expected prolonged queues and additional delays. Eurocontrol, Europe's combined aviation safety organization, advised airline operators to cancel half their flight schedules to and from Brussels until early Monday morning due to the disruption.
In contrast, Dublin Airport anticipates operating a full schedule on Sunday, despite the ongoing technical issues, and advised passengers to contact their airlines directly for updates. Cork Airport, under the same parent company as Dublin, reported no disruption, with all services running smoothly.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport is advising travellers to use online or self-service check-ins while the outage persists, although it experienced 12 cancellations on Saturday with delays generally under 45 minutes.
The cyber-attack has not impacted all airlines equally. EasyJet and Ryanair, two of Europe's largest airlines, reported normal operations on Saturday. In response to the incident, a spokesperson from the National Cyber Security Centre stated that they are collaborating with Collins Aerospace, affected UK airports, the Department for Transport, and law enforcement to fully comprehend the situation's impact.
The European Commission is closely monitoring the situation, although there is no evidence suggesting that the cyber-attack has been widespread or severe. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander acknowledged the incident and confirmed that she is receiving regular updates.
This incident comes just months after a global IT crash caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike disrupted aviation, grounding flights across the US. Analysts have suggested that such events underscore the aviation industry's vulnerability to issues with digital systems.