Airports latest: 'Very clever cyber attack' cancels flights in Europe - as Heathrow Airport hit by delays

A passenger at Heathrow has been waiting since 4.30am for a flight to Cape Town, South Africa, forcing her to miss a work deadline.

The "madness" started last night, Tereza Pultarova's airline told her she had to collect her boarding pass from the check-in desk, rather than online.

But when she arrived at the desk this morning, she was turned away, and staff at Heathrow have had no information to help her, she says.

"I'm still sitting around, it's awful," she says.

"I was really angry in the morning when we were given no information."

She continues: "It was quite unpleasant. Now I'm tired and I think we all just accepted the reality."

In yet more bad news for travellers, terminal two has been evacuated at Dublin Airport.

The move was taken as a "safety precaution" and "flight operations may be temporarily impacted", the airport posted on X.

It does not appear related to the Europe-wide software issues affecting airlines at Heathrow, Berlin and Brussels, as Dublin Airport said this was only having a "minor impact" at Dublin and Cork.

One reader sent us this image of the crowds outside the terminal.

The terminal has now been given the all clear and flights are expected to resume shortly.

Brussels airport has perhaps been the worst affected by the disruption today.

In its latest update it has confirmed that the number of cancelled flights now stands at 14, up from 10 earlier.

There is an average delay of an hour for departing flights, the airport said. 

The German government agency in charge of computer and communications security has issued an update on what is going on.

It said, as we've been reporting, that a global system for handling passengers at airports is currently 'not operational'.

This is resulting in passenger handling at affected airports having to be done manually.

The agency said it was in contact with Berlin airport, which is among those affected, and that aviation security is not affected.

Attention will no doubt turn to how a cyber attack like this was apparently able to impact several major airports.

Charlotte Wilson, from cyber security firm Check Point, said the aviation industry has become "an increasingly attractive target" for cyber criminals due to its reliance on shared systems.

"These attacks often strike through the supply chain, exploiting third-party platforms that are used by multiple airlines and airports at once. 

"When one vendor is compromised, the ripple effect can be immediate and far-reaching, causing widespread disruption across borders."

She called for better information sharing between governments, airlines and technology providers "on a European scale".

"Cyber attacks rarely stop at national borders, so the faster one country can identify and report an attack, the faster others can take action to contain it. 

"A joined up defence will be far more effective than siloed responses."

Münster/Osnabrück Airport, in northeast Germany, said it was "only indirectly affected" by the cyber attack.

Describing it as a "technical malfunction", the minor international airport detailed steps it has taken to adjust to the situation.

It said in a statement: "Munster/Osnabruck Airport was only indirectly affected by the technical malfunction of the external system provider.

"As a preventive measure, we have redirected our handling systems to our internal IT infrastructure, ensuring a smooth operational process for arrivals and departures.

"As of now, operations are running without restrictions, and all flights were able to depart from FMO on schedule last night."

Brussels Airport, which so far appears to be the worst affected, also appears to be having trouble with its website.

When trying to access information about departures or arrivals, users are instead met with information about the cyber attack.

"This has a large impact on the flight schedule and will unfortunately cause delays and cancellations of flights," it warns.

Aviation and travel expert Paul Charles says the disruption in several European airports is "a very clever cyber attack indeed, because it's affected a number of airlines and airports at the same time".

He said the exact cause isn't yet known but that "there will be deep concerns" about what happened.

Watch for more:

It's a bit unclear at the moment quite how many airports are affected by the cyber attack.

Collins Aerospace, according to Heathrow, provides systems for "several airlines across multiple airports globally".

Here's what we have heard from different airports and airlines so far.

Affected:

• Heathrow Airport says a "technical issue... may cause delays for departing passengers".
• Brussels Airport has cancelled 10 flights and delayed others after a "cyber attack".
• Berlin airport is reporting "longer wait times" due to a "technical issue".

Not affected:

• Frankfurt Airport was not affected, a spokesperson said.
• Poland has not seen any indications of threats its airports, deputy prime minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said.
• EasyJet said it does not expect the "IT system issue" to impact its flying programme.
• Delta Airlines said it anticipates minimal impact.

Transport Minister Heidi Alexander says she is aware of the disruption and is monitoring what's happening.

She said: "I'm aware of an incident affecting airline check-in and boarding, impacting flights at Heathrow and other European airports.

"I'm getting regular updates, and monitoring the situation. If you're flying at Heathrow today, check with your airline before travelling."