News / Europe's airports disrupted by cyber-attack– but no cargo delays, claim

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Airports in Europe impacted by the cyber-attack on Collins Aerospace claim there are no cargo delays, despite hundreds of flight cancellations since Friday. 

Affected airports are Brussels, Heathrow, Berlin and Dublin. 

Brussels Airport said yesterday that, although 85% of flights would take off as scheduled, it cancelled 75 over the weekend, and has asked airlines to cancel half the departures scheduled for today. 

Belly cargo accounts for some 20% of its volumes. But a spokesperson for Brussels Airport said: “As far as we can see, there is hardly any backlog, as it mainly concerns short-haul flights that have been cancelled. In many cases, an alternative was also available.

“In concrete terms, this means that the impact on belly cargo is currently negligible, thanks to the robust combination of passenger and cargo flights at Brussels Airport. This enables us to continue to operate resiliently and efficiently in situations like this.”

Dublin Airport also said there was no cargo impact – despite IAG being hit at two of its hubs, Dublin and Heathrow – noting that Aer Lingus had been “significantly impacted”. 

IAG Cargo said: “Operations remain stable. All operations are running as normal.”

However, one IAG Cargo customer told The Loadstar: “It was a difficult period for many airlines, with Virgin apparently hit quite hard. However IAG rerouted a huge amount of freight via less constrained routes and LGW/MAD which, given the breadth of the network, meant that the impact was much less severe than we were anticipating.”

A Virgin Atlantic Cargo spokesperson commented: “We’re aware of a technical issue impacting passenger check-in systems at a number of airports including London Heathrow which may result in some delays to departures. The issue is affecting airlines globally and Virgin Atlantic are working closely with Heathrow Airport and our partners to minimise disruption.

“All Virgin Atlantic flights are scheduled to operate as planned, although some flights may experience delays. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

“Cargo operations remain unaffected, and our teams are fully engaged in supporting colleagues and maintaining smooth operations. Please check Track & Trace for latest status update on shipments.”

Heathrow ignored questions concerning cargo, simply saying: “Airlines across Heathrow have implemented contingencies while their supplier, Collins Aerospace, works to resolve an issue with its airline check-in systems at airports across the world. These contingencies mean the vast majority of flights at Heathrow are operating as normal, although check-in and boarding for some flights may take slightly longer than usual.” 

However, as Logistics UK noted today, “almost two-thirds of the UK’s air cargo moves in passenger aircraft” – suggesting there may be a knock-on effect for cargo. 

RTX, the owner of Collins Aerospace, told media the incident had affected its Muse software. The EU’s Agency for Cybersecurity confirmed it was a ransomware attack, but the European Commission said it was not “widespread” or “severe”. 

The incident has sharpened focus on the vulnerability of aviation. 

Jamie Akhtar, CEO and co-founder of CyberSmart, said “the fallout will be extensive”, adding: “It’s a reminder that operational reliance on external vendors creates a large attack surface, and when those services fail, the impact is immediate and highly visible. 

“To reduce risk from this kind of disruption, organisations need more than perimeter defences. That means rigorous assessment of supplier resilience, redundancy and fallback options, continuous monitoring of dependencies, and clear communication protocols during incidents.

“Ultimately, the weakest link is often someone else’s system, but the consequences are felt by everyone.” 

Cybersecurity expert and CEO of NordVPN’s travel app, Vykintas Maknickas, added: “This attack is a prime example of the supply chain risks facing the aviation industry. Many airports, including those affected in this incident, rely on the same third-party systems for passenger handling. While this approach boosts operational efficiency, it significantly reduces resilience. A single cyber-attack on one vendor can quickly escalate into widespread disruptions across multiple airports…” 

“Cybersecurity is usually treated as an IT problem, but in reality it’s an operational safety issue. Aviation has long avoided single points of failure in its physical infrastructure, like multiple runways, backup power, redundant comms. The same philosophy must be applied to their digital strategies. Otherwise, today’s outage will not be the last.” 

The news has overshadowed the announcement that Gatwick has received the green light for a second runway, a move welcomed by Logistics UK. 

Senior policy manager Alexandra Herdman said: “Almost two-thirds of the UK’s air cargo moves in passenger aircraft … and can make the difference between a profitable and a non-profitable route for a passenger airline. This type of freight also tends to be high-value, time-sensitive goods such as manufacturing components and pharmaceuticals, so is essential to keep the UK trading and supply chains moving.  

“By increasing passenger services, it is highly likely this will also provide increased air cargo, with some reports suggesting air cargo tonnage could double, helping address the significant shortage of air cargo capacity in the south-east and boosting the economy by making international connections for UK businesses even easier.” 

However, Lee May, partner at DMH Stallard and a specialist in UK planning law, warned there were still hurdles. 

“Those opposed to the airport’s expansion now have a six-week window of opportunity to challenge the Development Consent Order in the High Court. 

“The project has faced significant opposition from environmental campaigners and some local residents, with concerns being expressed around how the proposal fits in with the government’s commitment to minimising carbon emissions and the impact on local residents through noise, air pollution and additional traffic generation. So, it is possible that legal challenges will be brought. 

“Given the national significance of the project, any legal challenge will be given high priority by the court; the airport operators and the government will hope for a speedy resolution.   

“But with the possibility of further appeals to the Court of Appeal and eventually to the Supreme Court it may be many months before a final decision is reached and work can get under way.”