Cyberattack Forces Brussels Airport to Cancel More Flights

Europe|Cyberattack Forces Brussels Airport to Cancel More Flights

Brussels Airport canceled half its departing flights scheduled for Monday, as technical problems with check-in systems stretched into a third day after a cyberattack disrupted travel at major European hubs over the weekend.

The airport’s announcement on Sunday came a day after at least three other airports — Berlin-Brandenburg, Dublin and Heathrow — said that the cyberattack, had also hindered their check-in and boarding processes.

Brussels Airport, which appeared to have been most affected by the disruption, made the decision to cancel the flights, saying it had not been able to confirm that the software used for check-in and boarding systems was “restored and secure.”

The Associated Press, citing information from the airport, reported that the decision would affect nearly 140 of 276 scheduled departures on Monday.

“We advise passengers with a flight to check the status of their flight before coming to the airport and to only come to the airport if their flight has been confirmed,” an airport spokesman said in an emailed statement.

Brussels and other affected airports said that a cyberattack on Collins Aerospace, an American company that provides check-in and boarding systems, was to blame for the disruption, which led to longer waiting times for departing passengers.

RTX, the company’s corporate parent, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday. In a statement on Saturday, RTX said that the attack had interfered with its systems at some airports and that it was working to restore “full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible.” Airports could work around the issue by switching to manual check-ins, RTX added.

Brussels Airport said that the cyberattack had “heavily disrupted” its operations over the weekend, forcing the airport to rely on manual processes for check-ins and boarding.

It was not immediately clear how widespread the disruptions were on Monday. Heathrow Airport — London’s biggest — said in an emailed statement on Monday morning that “the vast majority of flights at Heathrow are operating as normal, although check-in and boarding for some flights may take slightly longer than usual.”

Collins is an aviation and defense technology business based in Iowa. RTX, its corporate parent, said in its statement on Saturday that the problem was affecting its MUSE software, a passenger-processing system that Collins supports and that is used by about 300 airlines at 100 airports.

“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop,” RTX said.

This disruption is the latest in a string of cyberattacks that have targeted major airports and institutions. Last December, a cyberattack on Japan Airlines caused delays to both domestic and international flights. In June, Columbia University said a “hacktivist” conducted a sophisticated cyberattack that caused a widespread shutdown of the university’s computer systems, and stole student data with the apparent goal of furthering a political agenda.

Johnny Diaz and Claire Moses contributed reporting.