Cork-based Collins Aerospace working to restore systems after European airport cyberattack
London Heathrow, Dublin, Brussels and Berlin airports all experienced delays and disruption following a "technical issue" affecting Collins Aerospace, which works for several airlines at multiple airports across the world. Picture date: Saturday September 20, 2025.
RTX subsidiary Collins Aerospace said it is working to restore its on-site passenger processing software for airlines after a cyber "intrusion" disrupted operations.
Collins Aerospace, headquartered in North Carolina but with a significant presence in Cork and Shannon, experienced a disruption on September 19 to its MUSE system, an airport platform that supports passenger check-in, baggage processing, and boarding operations at several European airports.
The ransomware attack knocked check-in systems offline and caused widespread travel disruptions.
By noon on Sunday, 13 flights — nine inbound and four outbound — were cancelled at Dublin Airport due to the attack.
The airport said some airlines in Terminal 2, including Aer Lingus, were using manual workarounds to issue bag tags and boarding passes. As a result, check-in and bag drop took longer than usual.
Berlin Airport, one of the affected sites, said it was struggling to restore its check-in and baggage handling systems and warned of further delays and cancellations on Wednesday. Systems at London Heathrow and Brussels were also affected.
The attack on Collins Aerospace is the latest in a series of cyber incidents in Europe with serious real-world consequences.
Collins Aerospace opened its Shannon base in 1988, establishing a maintenance, repair and overhaul centre. The company calls it a “world leader and centre of excellence” for electrical repairs covering all major commercial aircraft platforms.
Its customers include major airlines, maintenance companies, and repair organisations.
In 2010, the company expanded into Cork City with a new office, which now employs around 100 people.
The Cork branch acts as a research and development hub and, according to Collins, is a “key contributor” to its applied research and technology capability.
In recent years, Collins Aerospace has repeatedly been targeted by pro-Palestine protestors who object to its parent company RTX, formerly Raytheon, which has supplied defence systems to Israel, including missiles.
RTX has also partnered with Israeli firms to develop weapons systems, which the company said were used to “protect the citizens and infrastructure of Israel.”
In May last year, Collins Aerospace withdrew from Cork's Carnival of Science following protests about its parent company’s links to the Israeli military.
“They are a subsidiary of Ratheon Ltd, and they are weapons suppliers to the Israeli army, including the ‘iron dome’," Cork City Councillor Brian McCarthy said at the time.
Since October 7, the Israeli military campaign has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, injured over 160,000, caused famine, destroyed large parts of Gaza, and displaced most of the population.
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