Man arrested over cyber-attack that disrupted European airports

Last weekend, September 20, a major cyber incident hit multiple European airports, bringing down check-in and boarding systems across London Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin.

Ground staff were forced to revert to pen-and-paper procedures as baggage and passenger processing systems went offline.

Today, September 24, the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed that a 40-year-old man had been arrested in West Sussex on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act, as reported by BBC News. The suspect was later released on conditional bail.

Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, described the arrest as “a positive step” but stressed that the inquiry was at an early stage. He warned: “Cybercrime is a persistent global threat that continues to cause significant disruption to the UK.”

The aftermath of the cyber-attack on European airports

• Heathrow: Flights continue to be delayed. Internal staff memos revealed Collins Aerospace is engaged in a major rebuild of the check-in software after failed restarts. Airlines and ground handlers have been told to anticipate disruptions for at least a week.
• Brussels: Over 50 outbound flights were cancelled on Sunday, September 21. By Monday, nearly 140 further cancellations were recorded.
• Berlin: While less extensively reported, check-in and boarding disruptions were also confirmed.

The EU’s cybersecurity agency flagged that ransomware had been deployed during the attack, raising concerns about data compromise and future vulnerabilities.

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