The latest cyberattacks (September 2025) on a central IT service provider have severely affected air traffic at major European hubs such as Berlin, Brussels and London.
Particularly alarming: a distributed departure control system (DCS) - the digital nerve center for all critical passenger processes from check-in to boarding and flight handling- was affected. If this system fails, operations on the ground could potentially come to a standstill.
This incident is a lesson in how quickly digital risks can lead to real costs and massive chaos. It confirms exactly what we discussed in our recent BILD article "Crash costs cash - How Testsolutions optimizes IT systems and minimizes downtime risks": The failure of critical IT systems such as a DCS is not a theoretical danger, but an expensive reality.
It is remarkable how resilient the emergency plans of airlines and airports are. The ability to switch to manual processes with handwritten boarding passes prevents total failure. But this last line of defense is a labor-intensive and expensive compromise - one that proactive quality assurance can at least make less likely. Comprehensive software testing plays a crucial role in hardening IT applications by uncovering vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them.
"Manual processes prevent total standstill and require skill - but they are expensive, time-consuming and damage reputations."
Our approach goes beyond mere error analysis. Targeted preparation for emergencies is a test discipline in its own right. As experts in business continuity management (BCM), we simulate and validate the resilience of entire system landscapes so that the emergency plan can stay in the cupboard.
The implementation of such preventive measures requires in-depth know-how. Our team consists of certified experts who are familiar with the complex process chains of airline IT from numerous challenging projects.
"Resilience is no coincidence - it is designed, tested and practised long before passengers queue at the gate."
Another challenge is the rapid mobilization of expertise. Attackers do not wait for project cycles, and recovery times are short. That's why our specialists are flexibly available and can reinforce your team exactly when it is needed most.
"Cyberattacks don't follow your schedule. Your response does."
After all, images of stranded passengers are more than just a bad headline - they are a risk that, in view of the current geopolitical tensions and the increasing professionalization of cyber actors, will not decrease in the foreseeable future, but will continue to rise. Critical infrastructures are constantly in focus. Our mission is to minimize this risk so that flight operations run safely and smoothly.
"The right time to act is now - not after the next incident."
To prepare your airline IT for the next disruption, test at least these three areas:
Failover readiness: can your systems automatically switch to backups without losing passenger data or causing long delays?
Cyberattack simulation: Have you tested how your DCS behaves in the event of ransomware or denial of service attacks?
Recovery time: How quickly can you restore full DCS functionality after a partial or complete outage?
We would be happy to help you make your IT more resilient.
Get in touch with us.
Current (22.09.2025) reporting on the cyber attacks: