UK nabs suspect in ransomware attack that disrupted major European airports

A man has been arrested in West Sussex by the UK’s National Crime Agency after a ransomware attack caused massive delays at several European airports last weekend.

The arrest, made on Wednesday, targeted a man in his forties who is now facing charges under the UK’s Computer Misuse Act. He has been released on conditional bail. The agency says the investigation is still “in its early stages.”

Hackers cripple check-in software, airports switch to manual mode

Paul Foster, who runs the NCA’s cyber unit, confirmed that the team is still collecting evidence and working with other partners. The weekend attack brought chaos to airports in London, Berlin, and Brussels, as critical check-in software suddenly failed, as Cryptopolitan reported.

That system, known as MUSE, is managed by Collins Aerospace, a company based in the United States. Hackers used ransomware to completely freeze operations, shutting down kiosks, bag-drop stations, and boarding infrastructure. It left airports scrambling to handle everything manually, slowing lines and forcing several flight cancellations.

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity confirmed the hackers had locked the company’s systems and made them unusable. The disruption started Friday and lasted into Monday, with Heathrow and Berlin Brandenburg airports recovering first. But Brussels Airport continued to struggle. As of this week, officials in Brussels are telling passengers to check in online before arriving, as their systems are still recovering.

While the cyber unit was tackling airport systems, the UK’s official statistics office was launching its own internal cleanup.

The Office for National Statistics is now dropping some of its published reports, freezing projects, and hiring 100 new staff to fix problems in its economic data. This includes pausing or cutting output in crime, health, and regional reporting. A spokesperson from the ONS told Bloomberg that the agency is trying to shift more people and funds into economic reporting, especially the areas that feed directly into Bank of England decisions.

The ONS has been under pressure since its labor market survey collapsed almost two years ago, and like many agencies globally, it saw a huge drop in public response after the pandemic, so its data got quickly deemed unreliable.

Since then, more issues have surfaced, including questionable numbers on prices, trade, and retail sales. The plan to replace the broken survey has been delayed until at least the end of 2026.

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