A man has been arrested over an alleged cyber attack which caused disruption at Heathrow and other European airports.
The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) said the suspect, aged in his 40s, was held in West Sussex on Tuesday on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences.
Deputy director Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said: “Although this arrest is a positive step, the investigation into this incident is in its early stages and remains ongoing.
“Cybercrime is a persistent global threat that continues to cause significant disruption to the UK.
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“Alongside our partners here and overseas, the NCA is committed to reducing that threat in order to protect the British public.”
The suspect has since been released on conditional bail.
The alleged cyber attack affected Collins Aerospace and saw check-in and boarding systems disrupted at London Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin airports.
The firm works for several airlines at multiple airports across the world.
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The alleged cyber attack disrupted check-in and boarding systems at several airports including London Heathrow
|GETTY
Disruption began on Friday, September 19, evening and continued throughout the weekend.
It saw flights cancelled or delayed as the impacted airlines had to carry out check-in and boarding operations manually.
Passengers due to fly from Heathrow’s Terminal 4 said they were met with queues, delays and confusion as to whether they would be able to make their planned trips.
Heathrow said early on Sunday that work was continuing to recover from the check-in system outage.
Passengers faced queues at Heathrow airport
|REUTERS
It added that "the vast majority of flights have continued to operate".
Brussels Airport saw 50 outbound flights cancelled on Sunday, and nearly another 140 on Monday.
Berlin airport meanwhile, still did not have its check-in systems restored on Monday and reported delays of over an hour for departures.
It was already facing higher passenger numbers than usual due to the Berlin Marathon.
One passenger described the boarding process as akin to the early decades of commercial air travel, with handwritten boarding passes.
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