Berlin and Brussels passenger terminals were also affected by the attack
SP (Folhapress) – A cybership to a check-in and shipping system provider affected operations at several important European airports, including London Heathrow, the busiest on the continent, causing delays and 29 flight cancellations on Saturday (20).
Collins Aerospace, which provides systems for various airlines, is facing a technical problem that can cause delays for passengers at the time of boarding, Heathrow airport said.
Berlin and Brussels airports were also affected by the attack. The latter reported that 10 flights have been canceled so far, with an average delay of one hour for all aircraft matches-companies were forced to manually enter the data of passengers who checked in at the airport or had a dispatched luggage.
In Berlin, the delays are 10 to 15 minutes overall, with some exceptions of greater waiting. The check-in made by the totems, a closed system in the terminal, works normally. The greatest difficulty of passengers is to dispatch the luggage.
Frankfurt airport, the largest in Germany, was not affected, a spokesman said. It is also normal for operation in Munich, which opens its traditional Oktoberfest on Saturday, for which it is awaiting hundreds of thousands of visitors.
According to the Federal Digital Security Agency (BSI, in the acronym in German), the problem is limited to airport services, and there is no risk for air operation.
In Heathrow, Berlin and Brussels, 29 matches and arrivals have been canceled so far, Aviation data provider said. In total, 651 matches were scheduled from Heathrow, 228 from Brussels and 226 from Berlin this Saturday.
Collins, an Iowa -based aviation and defense technology company, said the problem was detected in software called Muse, used for passenger processing. The system serves about 300 airlines in about 100 airports, according to the company’s website.
“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and luggage dispatch and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations,” RTX, the company’s controller, said in a statement. No information on who could be behind the attack was provided.
This seems to be at least the second cyber security problem faced by the company. By 2023, the names, addresses, and contact details of pilots and other staff affiliated to Collins partner companies were allegedly leaked after an attack claimed by a group of “ransomware” (redemption information block).
A European Commission spokesman said there was currently no indications of a “widespread or serious attack” and that the origin of the incident is still under investigation.
Passengers with flights scheduled for this Saturday were advised by the airports affected to confirm their trips with the airlines before heading to the airport.
British Airways, the largest airline in Heathrow, said it was not affected because it had a backup system that allowed you to continue serving customers.
Delta Air Lines said he expected minimal impact on flights from three affected airports, adding that he had implemented an alternative solution to minimizing the problem.
Easyjet, which is among the largest airlines in Europe, said it was operating normally at the moment and did not expect the problem to impact its flights for the rest of the day.
Galeão’s international airports in Rio de Janeiro and Guarulhos in São Paulo reported through their press office that there are no changes in the programming of flights.
The interruption is the latest in a series of cyber attacks that target governments and companies worldwide, reaching sectors such as health and defense, retail and cars. A recent violation of luxury car automaker Jaguar Land Rover interrupted his production.
Rob Jardin, digital director of NYMVPN, a cyber security expert, said the incident highlighted the vulnerability of critical infrastructure when it depends on outsourced suppliers.
“Increasingly, hackers are not just criminals, but they are being used as a weapon by hostile nations against Europe, with the supply chains seen as an easy way to cause chaos.”
