British holidaymakers are facing travel chaos at Heathrow after a cyber attack disrupted check-in and boarding systems for several major European airports.

Passengers at the UK’s largest airport are experiencing huge queues this morning after hackers targeted Collins Aerospace, which provides services for multiple airlines globally, on Friday night.

The company is ‘experiencing a technical issue which may cause delays for departing passengers’. Although the attack ‘is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations’, it added.

Heathrow has warned of delays and advised customers to check their flight status with their airline before travelling, while a number of departures were also cancelled. 

It is the third time the London airport has suffered severe delays in recent weeks following two separate incidents in August and July that saw hundreds of holidaymakers’ plans disrupted.

Brussels and Berlin have also been affected by the cyber attack, with the former confirming that 10 flights had been cancelled and 17 flights were experiencing delays of more than one hour.

Disgruntled passengers have vented their frustration over the issue, with one person writing on X: ‘Delays at LHR T4, so annoying. Charging £6 drop off, maybe they should improve their services. You just can’t travel smoothly in the UK.’ 

Another told the Daily Mail they had been stuck in Brussels ‘for hours’ after leaving Africa at 4pm on Friday. ‘We are on our 7th gate change, no announcements, no drinks offered. Terrible,’ they added. 

Heathrow has warned of delays for passengers after cyber hackers targeted a service provider for several major European airports. PIctured: Passengers queue at Heathrow on Saturday after a cyber attack on an airline service provider

Huge queues at Brussels airport this morning after a cyber attack disrupted check-in and boarding systems for several major European airports

A Heathrow spokesperson said: ‘Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in and boarding systems for several airlines across multiple airports globally, is experiencing a technical issue that may cause delays for departing passengers. 

‘While the provider works to resolve the problem quickly, we advise passengers to check their flight status with their airline before travelling. 

‘Please arrive no earlier than three hours before a long-haul flight or two hours before a domestic flight. 

‘Additional colleagues are available in check-in areas to assist and help minimise disruption. We apologise for any inconvenience.’

EasyJet said it does not expect the issue to impact its flight schedule for the rest of Saturday.

‘We’re aware of an IT system issue affecting a small number of airports. While we are currently operating as normal and do not expect this to impact our flying programme for the remainder of the day, we continue to monitor the situation closely,’ a spokesperson for the London-listed airline said. 

Meanwhile, Brussels Airport said the cyber attack meant that ‘at the moment only manual check-in and boarding is possible’.

‘The service provider is actively working on the issue and trying to resolve the problem as quickly as possible,’ it added in a statement. 

Travellers wait in queues at Brussels airport, after a cyber attack at a service provider for check-in and boarding systems disrupted operations at several major European airports 

A message on the Berlin Brandenburg Airport adds: ‘Due to a technical issue at a system provider operating across Europe, there are longer waiting times at check-in. We are working on a quick solution.’ 

Frankfurt and Hamburg airports are not affected by the attack, a spokesperson said.

An official from the operations control centre at Zurich Airport also said it had not been impacted. 

Collins Aerospace’s parent company, RTX, said in a statement: ‘We have become aware of a cyber-related disruption to our MUSE software in select airports. 

‘We are actively working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible. The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations.