A man has been arrested in the UK in connection with the cyber-attack that disrupted flights at London Heathrow and several other European airports last weekend.
The National Crime Agency said it had arrested a man in his 40s in West Sussex as part of an investigation into the incident affecting Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in desk technology for airlines.
The NCA and officers from the organised crime unit arrested the man on Tuesday evening, on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act. He has been released on conditional bail.
The cyber incident, which was reported last Friday, led to widespread delays and cancellations at a number of airports, with Brussels the worst affected.
Airlines using the Collins system were forced to check in passengers manually. While only some Heathrow operations were directly affected, about 20 flights were cancelled at the weekend and most flights suffered delays.
Berlin and Dublin airports also reported delays due to the incident.
Paul Foster, the NCA deputy director and head of the agency’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. Alongside our partners here and overseas, the NCA is committed to reducing that threat in order to protect the British public.”
The incident is the latest of a number of cyber breaches that have affected big companies in the UK this year. Britain’s biggest automotive employer, the Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover, has had to halt production for weeks after an attack. The retailers Marks & Spencer and the Co-op also suffered costly attacks.
Collins Aerospace is owned by RTX, listed in New York, one of the world’s largest aerospace and weapons groups.
