Major airports across Europe are trying to cope with travel disruptions following cyber attacks against their electronic check-in and boarding system.
London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, Berlin and Brussels are among the centres that faced flight delays and cancellations on Saturday.
Collins Aerospace, a provider of check-in and boarding systems for several airlines, said on Saturday that “cyber-related disruption” to its Multi-User System Environment software is causing delays at some airports.
MUSE, a passenger processing system that allows airlines to share check-in desks and boarding gate positions at an airport rather than having dedicated infrastructure, according to the company's website.
“We are working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible,” the company said in a statement.
Heathrow Airport said Collins Aerospace 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 traveling," the airport said in a post on X.
Berlin airport on Saturday also said there are longer waiting times than usual at check-in
"We are working on a quick solution," it said in a statement on its website.
Brussels airport said that the cyber attack means "that at the moment only manual check-in and boarding is possible".
"This has a large impact on the flight schedule and will unfortunately cause delays and cancellations of flights," according to a statement on its website.
The airport said that the service provider is "working on the issue" and trying to "resolve the problem as quickly as possible."
However later on Saturday it announced that half of flights scheduled for Sunday had been cancelled.
UAE airlines
Meanwhile, Etihad Airways said that check-in processes are "currently taking longer than usual" at London Heathrow and Brussels International Airport due to the technical issue impacting these systems at the two hubs.
"Etihad Airways staff are assisting guests with their check-in," the airline said in a statement. It advised passengers to arrive at the airport early to minimise delays.
"Technicians are actively working to restore the systems to normal operation as quickly as possible," it said.
Dubai-based Emirates said there has been no major impact to its operations.
Aviation's 'digital battlefield'
Cybersecurity is emerging as a top IT investment priority for airports, with nearly 40 per cent of all airports ranking it as their top priority, according to Sita's 2024 Air Transport Insights. Sita is an IT provider for the air transport industry.
Around 80 per cent of airports include cyber security in their top three areas of spend for the next 12 months, it said.
"This emphasis underscores airports’ commitment to safeguarding their systems and data against evolving and sophisticated threats, fraud, and risks," Sita said.
The aviation sector recorded a 600 per cent increase in cyber-attacks from 2024 to 2025, according to a June report by French aerospace company Thales.
"Behind any physical turbulence in the skies, a silent cyber war is being waged on the aviation sector," the report said. "From airlines and airports to navigation systems and suppliers, every link in the chain is vulnerable to attack."
The global aviation cyber security market is expected to reach $5.32 billion in 2025, with average annual growth estimated at 8.7 per cent by 2029, driven in particular by the increasing digitalisation of the sector and the intensified threat landscape, according to Thales.
“The aviation industry has become a digital battlefield with significant economic and geopolitical interests at stake," Ivan Fontarensky, chief technology officer at Cyber Detection and Response at Thales, said.
"The sharp increase in the number of attacks calls for a holistic approach to aviation cyber security, further moves to incorporate AI as an ally and closer collaboration between industry and the public sector.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
