Man arrested in connection with airport cyber-attacks

A person has been arrested in connection with a cyber-attack which has caused days of disruption at several European airports including Heathrow.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said a man in his forties was arrested in West Sussex "as part of an investigation into a cyber incident impacting Collins Aerospace".

There have been hundreds of flight delays after Collins Aerospace baggage and check-in software used by several airlines failed, with some boarding passengers using pen and paper.

"Although this arrest is a positive step, the investigation into this incident is in its early stages and remains ongoing," said Paul Foster, head of the NCA's national cyber crime unit.

The attack against US software maker Collins Aerospace was discovered on Friday night and resulted in disruption across many European airports, including in Brussels, Dublin and Berlin.

Flights were cancelled and delayed throughout the weekend, with some airports still experiencing effects of the delays into this week.

"The vast majority of flights at Heathrow are operating as normal, but we encourage passengers to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport," Heathrow Airport said in a statement on its website.

Berlin Airport said on Wednesday morning "check-in and boarding are still largely manual", which would result in "longer processing times, delays, and cancellations by airlines".

While Brussels Airport advised passengers to check in online before arriving at the airport.

Cyber-attacks in the aviation sector have increased by 600% over the past year, according to a report by French aerospace company Thales.

Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.