Cyber Disruption Hits Major European Airports, Causes Delays and Cancellations

Air travel across Europe faced turbulence on Saturday as major airports, including Brussels, Berlin, and London Heathrow, reported widespread disruption to check-in and baggage systems following a cyber-related incident.

The outages were linked to MUSE software, provided by Collins Aerospace, an airport services company. “We have become aware of a cyber-related disruption to our MUSE software in select airports,” the firm confirmed in a statement to AFP.

It stressed that the issue was limited to electronic check-in and baggage drop systems and could be temporarily mitigated through manual processing.

The impact was immediately felt at several busy hubs:

Brussels Airport reported that a “cyberattack” overnight on Friday led to at least 10 flight cancellations and 17 delays of more than an hour.

The airport warned passengers to check flight updates before heading to the terminal, as only manual check-in and boarding were available.

London’s Heathrow Airport, Europe’s busiest hub, confirmed its systems were also hit by a “technical issue” linked to Collins Aerospace. The airport cautioned that the disruption “may cause delays for departing passengers.”

In Berlin, a banner on the airport’s official website alerted travelers to “longer waiting times at check-in” due to the system provider’s technical failure affecting multiple airports across Europe.

The incident underscored the growing vulnerability of critical transport infrastructure to cyber threats. While Collins Aerospace did not elaborate on the source of the disruption, the scale of the impact raised concerns about the resilience of Europe’s aviation systems to potential cyberattacks.