Third-party check-in outage disrupts Brussels, Heathrow and Berlin airports

A disruption to check-in and boarding systems at a third-party provider has caused flight delays and cancellations at several major European airports after an incident late Friday, airport operators said, forcing staff to process passengers manually and prompting warnings to travelers on Saturday. Brussels Airport, London Heathrow and Berlin Brandenburg reported problems linked to the supplier, with airlines and ground staff struggling to maintain normal operations.

Brussels Airport described the event as a cyberattack that hit the service provider for check-in and boarding systems on Friday night, rendering automated systems inoperable and leaving only manual check-in and boarding possible. The operator said in a statement that the situation "has a large impact on the flight schedule and will unfortunately cause delays and cancellations of flights." By about 7 a.m. local time, nine Brussels flights had been cancelled and 15 were delayed by at least an hour, the airport said.

Heathrow warned departing passengers that a third-party supplier providing check-in and boarding systems for several airlines was experiencing a technical issue that "may cause delays for departing...