Disruptions at European airports: Not a technical glitch - but a global wake-up call

The widespread disruption that hit major European airports last week, including Heathrow in London, Brussels, and Berlin - is not just a localized “computer glitch.” The fact that a critical system such as MUSE/cMUSE from Collins Aerospace, responsible for check-in, ticketing, and baggage tags, collapsed all at once and forced the aviation industry back into manual operations highlights just how our dependence on shared digital infrastructure has become a systemic vulnerability. Endless queues, flight cancellations, and delays that paralyzed the schedules of tens of thousands of passengers are only the visible symptoms. As of now, parent company RTX.N confirmed to Reuters that the incident was linked to a cyberattack.

For passengers, the outcome was identical regardless of the cause: boarding passes were not printed, baggage was not processed, and planes departed late - if at all. For the aviation industry, however, the distinction is critical. If this was indeed a DDoS attack, as suspected, then it represents a relatively simple technological strike, but one with devastating consequences.

Rona Amram.

Application-layer DDoS attacks targeting APIs or websites can bring down critical systems, not through sophisticated breaches but by overwhelming them with artificial traffic. This year alone, attacks exceeding 7 Tbps have been recorded - an almost unimaginable scale, capable of crippling even distributed, cloud-based services. If such capabilities were directed at shared infrastructures like global ticketing systems, the result could be cross-border chaos.

This is the key lesson: shared systems in aviation are a systemic weak point. When they collapse, the entire industry grinds to a halt. The impact on passengers and operations is the same, whether triggered by cyberattacks or technical failures. From the public’s perspective, the result is uniform: critical systems stop working, and trust in the sector erodes. It is no longer sufficient to deploy advanced cybersecurity solutions alone; what’s required is an integrated defense framework. On one side, sophisticated security technologies; on the other, manual backup processes that ensure operational continuity even in times of crisis. Without well-rehearsed and embedded manual capabilities, the level of exposure remains dangerously high.

In today’s aviation environment - where demand for flights is surging, any disruption triggers a domino effect of frustration, economic loss, and reputational damage. Beyond that, state and non-state actors increasingly view civilian infrastructure weaknesses as strategic targets. Disrupting air travel is not just a logistical problem; it is a tool for geopolitical leverage, creating public pressure and eroding confidence in governments and institutions.

So what must airlines do to prevent cyberattacks? Above all, they must adopt a proactive approach. This means deploying multi-layered protection that integrates cloud-based scrubbing services, advanced WAF systems, bot protection, and rate-limiting capabilities - a combination that enables rapid mitigation even against complex attacks. Equally important are continuous testing and regular attack simulations, which expose vulnerabilities before hackers discover them. Operational readiness is critical too: clear emergency procedures, periodic drills, and the ability to switch to manual operations when needed, in coordination with airports, technology providers, and national CERTs. Finally, preparedness must be measured continuously against evolving attack scenarios to ensure systems are dynamic and adaptive. Only through such measures can response times be shortened, damage minimized, and global collapse prevented.

Ultimately, this latest disruption is a stark reminder that cybersecurity is no longer a “technical issue.” It has become a matter of national, economic, and personal security. When one system falls, the world discovers just how fragile everything really is. The only question is whether we will learn the lesson in time - or wait for the next, far more destructive event.

Rona Amram is VP of Business Management at MazeBolt.