European airports rush to fix check-in glitch after cyber disruption

European airports faced widespread disruption after a hacking incident caused check-in system failures across several hubs. The outage led to long queues, delayed flights and temporary manual processing as IT teams worked to restore services.

By Sabine Siebold & Christoph Steitz – Reuters

According to officials, the disruption was linked to a cyberattack targeting systems used by multiple airports, raising fresh concerns about the vulnerability of aviation infrastructure. While no safety issues were reported, the incident highlighted how quickly digital faults can cascade into operational delays.

Airports across Europe said they were deploying emergency teams and backup systems to minimise passenger inconvenience while cybersecurity experts assessed the scale of the breach. Authorities are now investigating the origin of the attack and considering further safeguards to protect aviation networks.