Several of Europe’s busiest airports, including London Heathrow, scrambled to restore normal operations on Sunday after a cyberattack crippled automatic check-in systems.
The attack, which struck on Saturday, targeted Collins Aerospace — the RTX-owned provider of check-in and boarding systems, and caused widespread disruption at Heathrow, Berlin, and Brussels airports, forcing passengers into long queues, delays, and cancellations.
By early Sunday, officials reported that the situation had improved, though some delays persisted. Regulators confirmed an investigation into the source of the breach.
At Brussels Airport, 45 of 257 scheduled departures were canceled, but operational adjustments kept waiting times relatively short, with delays ranging from 30 to 90 minutes. “It’s not yet clear how long the disruptions will continue,” a spokesperson told Reuters.
One Brussels passenger said the impact on their journey had been minimal.
“For me, it was business as usual. For those poor souls who didn’t do online check-in or have bags to check, they may be waiting a bit,” he said.
The incident marks the latest in a series of cyberattacks affecting industries from healthcare to automotive. A breach at Jaguar Land Rover recently forced production to a halt, while another attack left Marks & Spencer facing losses running into the hundreds of millions of pounds.
RTX described the incident as a “cyber-related disruption” affecting its MUSE software, which is used by multiple airlines. The company was not immediately available for further comment on Sunday.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport confirmed that issues were still ongoing but said it was working closely with RTX to restore full operations.
The airport added that a manual workaround had been introduced, allowing operations to continue without major delays or cancellations.
At Heathrow, officials said recovery efforts were still underway early Sunday following the check-in system outage.
It added that most flights were still operating as scheduled.
According to aviation data firm Cirium, Heathrow experienced only minor delays, Berlin faced moderate disruption, and Brussels saw significant delays that were beginning to ease.
