Gavin Grey: UK correspondent on the cyber attacks impacting major European airports

Some airports are handling cyber chaos better than others, as technical issues at major European airports continue for a third day.

Dozens of flights are being delayed or cancelled across Dublin, Berlin, Brussels and at London's Heathrow.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says airlines have been forced to use paper and pen to help check people in.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Devin Gray is a UK correspondent joining us this evening. Devin,
get a hither right, flight disruptions. We've got the cyber
attacks and flight disruptions across Europe and they sit to
get worse or continue at least.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Yes they are, and it's Brussels which appears to be
the worst affected. So this was all a software cyber
attack which struck several airports across the Europe, including Berlin
in Dublin and Brussels and London. Heathrow Britain's biggest airport,
and it's basically a system that allows airlines to share

(00:34):
check in desks and also the baggage sorting. So it
is effectively that that's been we believe, the subject of
a cyber attack. And Collins Airspace, who run that aerospace,
who run that particular software thing, saying well that they
have almost resolved the issue, but that hasn't stopped many
many flights being canceled across the weekend. This struck on

(00:55):
Friday night and Heathrow was looking pretty messy, so was
Brussels and Berlin. On Saturday. Things got a little bit
better yesterday. Today we're being told most are getting back
to normal but not so at Brussels, where effective they've
been asked. All airlines have been asked to cancel nearly
half their flights. So really a massive, massive problem there,

(01:18):
and it has led to all these airports having to
check people in using pen and paper. British Airways incidentally
was not doing that. It has its own backup system
and that's led to questions about why other airports don't
have their own backup system.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
Any idea at this point, Gavin, where the cyber attexts
have actually come from.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
No, all sorts of finger pointing again about potentially from
Russian hackers and potentially those Russian hackers being linked to Russia,
to the state of Russia. But we don't know that
for sure, and indeed the company itself is trying to
studiously avoid using the word cyber attack, just saying it
is a cyber issue, but everyone else seems to be

(01:58):
reported that they believe it to be a cyber attack.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
All right, Okay, speaking of the Russians in staying in
the skies Estonia is re Christian consultation with NATO members
that this after the Russian wall planes violated their space
Friday morning.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, so for the second time. In just this month,
we're getting news that Russia has flown over airspace and
Estonia being this time they reckoned some three meg fighter
jets flew over their airspace for twelve minutes. Now Russia
is saying no, we're an international airspace, but not according

(02:33):
to the Estonians who say no, it was flown over
and they're pretty angry about it. Indeed, it's led I
think lots of NATO countries now to get really jittery.
They are bolstering that eastern flank, and Italy, Finland and
Sweden were scrambling jets and as I said, for the
second time this month when a NATO members airspace was
breached by Russia. Incidentally, if you think, oh, this is

(02:54):
all getting a bit boring, the Czech president Peta Pavel
is saying that NATO should respond by shooting down any
planes from Russia or any other country which is overflying
without permission. Russia saying, you know, it had nothing to
do with it, it's not illegal and so forth. But
there is a feeling that Russia is testing NATO to

(03:14):
see what it is and is not willing to do. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
I don't like to agree with something like that. Something
as drastic is that. But if the idea is that
he is testing in his head at Stony in Poland,
his head Romania is testing the boundaries of NATO, NATO's
response thus far would seem to be pretty weak, wouldn't it.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, Yeah, I think that's exactly. I think the point
many awake and making that there's meetings, it's discussions, it's
jiggling around where the defenses are and a unanimous sort
of statement of intent, but there is actually no intent
being signaled at the moment.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
Appreciate your time. Gavin Gray, UK correspondent.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
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