Chaos at BER: Cyber ​​attack continues to cause flight delays!

Chaos at BER: Cyber ​​attack continues to cause flight delays!

There is still a lot of activity at BER airport after a cyber attack. While the situation has eased noticeably in the last few days, there are still IT problems that primarily affect passenger processing. Around 89,000 people left yesterday, Monday, while 79,000 passengers were expected on Tuesday. Despite the massive burden caused by this high number of travelers, the authorities were able to cope well with the large wave of departures on Tuesday morning, only occasionally having to cancel flights. However, in the days before after the return wave of the Berlin Marathon there were long queues and delays, which is why the passengers were extremely annoyed. The fire brigade is providing support in backloading luggage, which is urgently needed as luggage service is severely limited due to the technical problems.

The difficulties stem from a cyber attack that hit the US company Collins Aerospace on Friday. This company is responsible for the software that controls the electronic systems at the airport. “We are in close communication with Collins Aerospace,” said a spokesman for the airport operator. The EU cybersecurity agency ENISA confirmed that it was a ransomware attack that affected not only BER, but also other European airports such as London Heathrow, Brussels and Dublin. Some flights were canceled there and passengers had to watch as check-in and baggage drop-off were sometimes carried out manually - a particularly unpleasant situation in today's digital world.

Challenges of passenger processing

The situation was also tense in London, where over 1,000 computers were affected by the attack. Returning to normality is difficult as many system updates are required. Experts also warn that dependence on such software providers highlights weak points in the aviation sector. This meant that airlines often had to resort to manual procedures, which ultimately led to significant delays. The EU has already implemented stricter IT security regulations for the aviation industry since 2024, which should require regular updates and emergency plans. These strengthen resilience, but recent incidents show that there is still much to be done.

In Berlin, passengers are encouraged to use self-check-in as this system was not affected. This measure is intended to help streamline processes and avoid additional waiting times. Nevertheless, the timeline for fully resolving the IT issues remains unclear. Airline officials are optimistic, but there is no guarantee that old efficiency will return in the near future.

• Probleme durch den Cyberangriff am Flughafen BER betreffen die Passagierabfertigung.
• Zusätzliche Belastungen durch Rückreise von bis zu 20.000 Läufern vom Berlin-Marathon.
• Unklarer Zeitplan zur Behebung der IT-Probleme bei Collins Aerospace.
• Andere große deutsche Flughäfen sind von den Vorfällen nicht betroffen.
• Die Cybersicherheitsbehörde der EU bestätigt Ransomware-Angriff:
• Betroffene Flughäfen: Berlin, London, Brüssel, Dublin.
• Schwierigkeiten bei Check-in und Gepäckabgabe erforderten manuelle Verfahren.

Although the first flights took off on Tuesday without any delays, there were still reports of delays throughout the morning, mostly lasting less than an hour. We advise you to check the status of your own flights before arriving. In view of the past difficulties, we are still on the right track - a circumstance that will hopefully also please the paying travelers. Further updates are expected from operators as they strive to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.

Read more about this on the website of daily news, Time and Watson.