EU Cybersecurity Agency Confirms Ransomware Behind Major Airport Disruptions

Reuters

People queue inside Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport, 20 September 2025.

Airport disruptions affecting automated check-in systems across Europe in recent days were caused by a ransomware attack, the EU Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) confirmed on Monday, 22 September 2025, highlighting the growing threat posed by such attacks to critical infrastructure.

Several major European airports, including Brussels, London Heathrow, Berlin, and Dublin, have faced ongoing issues since Friday after hackers targeted automated check-in systems provided by Collins Aerospace, owned by RTX. The attacks disrupted dozens of flights and affected thousands of passengers.

“Law enforcement is involved to investigate the malicious software, which locks up data until a ransom is paid,” ENISA said, without specifying the origin of the attack.

Collins Aerospace said on Monday that it was working with the affected airports, including Brussels and London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, and was in the final stages of completing updates to help restore full functionality.

Berlin Airport, dealing with higher passenger numbers due to the Berlin Marathon, reported departures delayed by over an hour, with passengers experiencing handwritten boarding passes. Brussels Airport relied on iPads and laptops for passenger check-ins, resulting in 60 flight cancellations on Monday. Aviation analytics firm Cirium reported that only 42% of Brussels flights departed within one hour of their scheduled time.

Dublin Airport experienced minimal impact, with some manual processes temporarily implemented.

A recent survey by German industry group Bitkom found that ransomware is now the most common form of cyberattack, with one in seven companies having paid a ransom in response.

Source: Reuters



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