Airport ground services and air cargo operator Swissport has been hit with a ransomware attack that caused disruption in operations at Zurich Airport (ZRH).

Swissport is responsible for most of the operations at the airport, including check-in gates, airport security, baggage handling, aircraft fueling, de-icing and lounge hospitality.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

A spokesperson told Reuters that 22 flights were delayed by up to 20 minutes at Zurich Airport on 3 February.

On Twitter, the company announced: “A part of Swissport’s IT infrastructure was subject to a ransomware attack. The attack has been largely contained and we are working actively to fully resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Swissport regrets any impact the incident has had on our service delivery.”

Most critical systems and applications remained unaffected, but some systems were shut temporarily due to the impact on several servers.

However, the security teams were quick to detect the attack and started restoring the firm’s IT systems.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

On 5 February, Swissport stated on Twitter: “IT security incident at Swissport contained. Affected infrastructure has swiftly taken offline. Manual workarounds or fallback systems secured operation at all times. Full system clean-up and restoration are now underway. We apologise for any inconvenience.”

As of now, no information in connection with the ransomware operator and the type of ransomware used against the company is available.

In May 2020, UK-based easyJet too faced a cyberattack from a ‘highly sophisticated source’, which breached the data of around nine million travellers.

Airport Technology Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Airport Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
HID has won the Biometric Gate Innovation Award for its BG100 Speedgate a next generation eGate combining HID® Facepod™ with ASSA ABLOY’s Speedgate. Discover how HID is redefining airport passenger processing with faster, contactless and secure biometric journeys from curb to gate.

Discover the Impact