Up next in 10
URGENT: Cyberattack Causes Airport Chaos Across Europe
Sep 22, 2025
A cyberattack on airline software has caused major disruptions at airports across Europe, including Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin. Passengers should expect delays and check with their airline for updates. Airlines are responsible for rebooking passengers if connections are missed. #cyberattack #airport #delays #flights #travel
View Video Transcript
0:00
Heathro airport is warning of delays
0:02
because of technical problems with its
0:04
check-in and boarding systems. The cause
0:07
hasn't been given, but cyber attacks
0:08
have caused major issues at other
0:10
European airports. Officials in Belgium
0:13
say at least nine flights were cancelled
0:14
at Brussels airport and many others were
0:17
delayed. Berlin airport said the
0:19
attackers targeted the check-in system
0:21
causing long delays to departures. Well,
0:24
we can speak to our s to Simon Cer,
0:26
travel correspondent. Thank you for
0:28
joining us, Simon. I can see that you're
0:29
in the Czech Republic. Tell us how
0:32
serious do you think this cyber attack
0:33
is?
0:35
Well, it's extremely worrying and of
0:37
course there will be tens of thousands
0:39
of passengers affected and I can spin
0:41
through what is happening where. But the
0:44
fact that this is happening on a busy
0:46
late summer's day across Europe is very
0:50
very worrying and of course the airlines
0:52
will want to know what went wrong and
0:54
what's being done to stop it in the
0:56
future. piecing together the information
0:58
we have from various airports across
1:01
Europe. It seems clear that this is
1:04
software that is operated by a company
1:07
called Collins Aerospace. They uh sort
1:10
out the check-in and the baggage uh
1:14
registration for a large number of
1:16
airlines at various airports. Exactly as
1:19
you say, uh Brussels in Belgium appears
1:22
to be worst affected. Berlin also hit
1:25
London Heath Row uh delays there and
1:28
crucially well at Brussels they're
1:31
saying as well as the flight
1:33
cancellations that you shouldn't even go
1:34
to the airport unless you know for
1:36
certain that your flight is going to be
1:38
departing. Berlin is saying expect
1:41
delays. I've got a couple of
1:42
cancellations going in and out of there.
1:46
For example, Euro wings to Nice um Paris
1:49
on Air France. Um but looking at Heath
1:52
Row, the main problem was actually long
1:54
delays. For example, the flight from
1:57
Brussel from Berlin to uh uh Heath Row
2:00
that was um due in about 2 hours ago,
2:03
BA999.
2:05
Um that's currently over Rotterdam at
2:07
the moment. And that clearly is going to
2:09
mean that people miss a lot of cancel, a
2:12
lot of connections. And the same thing
2:13
going outbound from Heathrow. So, for
2:16
instance, the first Friday of the day,
2:18
6:00 a.m. TAP Portugal to Lisbon. That
2:22
was 2 hours late leaving. That's going
2:24
to mean misconnections in the Portuguese
2:26
capital. And then the two crucial hubs
2:29
Amsterdam Skipple and Paris Charles de
2:31
Gaulle well the first flights out from
2:33
Heathrow um on KM and on Air France
2:37
respectively were two and a half to
2:39
three hours late as a result of that.
2:42
again missed connections and given the
2:46
way that aviation of course is under
2:48
such high pressure and everything needs
2:50
to work well I'm afraid we could see
2:53
further things unraveling as the day
2:55
goes on the main message is assume your
2:58
flight is going ahead unless you hear
3:00
otherwise but be prepared for delays and
3:02
disruption
3:03
Simon looking at the numbers coming into
3:05
us at the moment we know that there have
3:08
been nearly 100 delays at Heathrow 70 in
3:11
Brussels 15 in Berlin. Are we likely to
3:14
see any more at this point, do you
3:15
think?
3:16
Well, yes, because if you take, for
3:18
example, there's an easy jet flight that
3:20
set off from um uh Lisbon, which also
3:23
appears to be having some disruption to
3:26
um Birmingham. It was an over an hour
3:29
late leaving um that flight then goes
3:32
back to Lisbon. It's supposed to be
3:33
going off to Funchal in Madiraa, then
3:36
off to Marrakesh. The lowcost airlines,
3:39
although they don't seem to be as badly
3:41
affected, once their schedules start
3:44
getting hit, then that causes problems
3:46
because of course they allow typically
3:48
half an hour between a flight arriving
3:50
and when it leaves again with a fresh uh
3:53
contingent of passengers on board. Uh
3:56
worth saying that easy jet believe that
3:59
they don't uh they don't think there
4:01
will be major problems. Um but honestly,
4:04
who knows what will happen. I fear that
4:07
with with planes being late and out of
4:09
position, we could see some
4:11
deterioration before things start to get
4:14
better and of course questions being
4:16
asked. Meanwhile, if you are on a
4:19
flight, then it is the airlines
4:21
responsibility if it is canled or
4:23
delayed severely if you miss a
4:25
connection. They are responsible for
4:27
getting you to your destination as soon
4:29
as possible, providing meals and
4:31
accommodation as necessary, but you
4:34
won't be getting any cash compensation
4:36
under air passenger rights rules. It's
4:38
manifestly isn't their fault. And they
4:40
are furious at yet more airport
4:42
disruption that is costing them a
4:44
fortune.
4:45
Simon Cer, thank you for running through
4:47
all of those developments and of course
4:49
that allimportant advice. Thank you.
4:51
That's Simon Cer, our travel
4:53
correspondent in the Czech Republic.
#Transportation
#World News