Airports across Europe faced disruptions on Friday, September 19, after a cyberattack hit a third-party provider of passenger services. The worst affected airports were Berlin and Brussels, where the check-in and boarding systems went temporarily offline.
Berlin Airport clarified that the external service provider, not the airport itself, was the target of the attack, Spiegel wrote.
“Due to a technical fault in the provider’s system, which is used throughout Europe, check-in waiting times have increased. We are working to resolve the problem quickly,” airport representatives said.
Brussels Airport acknowledged the issue and compelled its staff to transition to manual check-in procedures.
“Passengers are advised to check their flight status directly with the airline and arrive at the airport in advance,” the airport administration stated.
London Heathrow Airport also reported delays, though it described the disruption as a “technical issue” with the same third-party supplier. The full scale of affected European airports has not yet been disclosed.
The incident highlights the vulnerability of aviation infrastructure to cyberattacks, with critical passenger services depending on shared IT providers.
The disruption came on the same day that two young men in the UK were charged over a separate cyberattack on a London transport company in 2024, raising fresh questions about the scale of coordinated cyber threats to European infrastructure.
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