Multiple German airport websites have gone offline due to a systems failure. Reports suggest that cyberattacks might be behind the outages. No airport operations have been impaired by the website troubles, meaning the IT issue seems to be restricted online. However, continuing outages will impact passengers in the coming days, especially as other airports face strikes.

UPDATE: 2023/02/16 10:22 EST BY PRANJAL PANDE

As of 18:30 UTC, the four airport websites are back online and functioning as normal.

Websites under attack

So far, only four airports have had issues with their websites. The websites of Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS) and Dortmund Airport (DTM) have been unreachable. Erfurt Weimar Airport (ERF) also found its website offline today. The airport's internet provider has begun an investigation into the incident to determine if a cyberattack caused the outage. Nürnberg Airport (NUE) also had its website crash this morning. According to AP News, the airport reported that its website received so many requests in such a short period that it collapsed.

While websites will have issues from time to time and may even go offline, it is uncommon for multiple airport websites to suddenly go offline around the same time as one another. Due to the close time proximity and nature of the outages, it is believed that these outages are the result of cyberattacks targeting airport infrastructure. For now, no airport operations have been disrupted by any of these outages. Airport authorities are working quickly to resolve the issues and bring the websites back online before any operations are affected by the outage.

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Start of a storm

The website outages, which could lead to operational disruptions in the coming days, come a day before a massive daylong strike. The trade union Ver.di has called for a one-day airport worker walkout which will last all day tomorrow, February 17th. Travelers have been warned to avoid air travel throughout Germany tomorrow as the walkouts will likely cause massive disruptions at airports across the country.

Due to the strikes, Lufthansa has canceled all flights out of Frankfurt and Munich tomorrow, leading to widespread trouble and bookings for passengers.

DUS is the only airport affected by the website outage that is on the list of airports where a walkout is planned. However, the massive number of flight disruptions that the strike will likely cause will start a domino effect, affecting nearly all German Airports. This will lead to flight disruptions throughout the country and many neighboring countries for the next several days. This coming storm will only be fueled by the website outages.

Not the only IT issue

The airports affected by the website outages are not the first victims of technological failures this week. Yesterday, February 15th, Lufthansa Group's operations were severely affected by an IT failure. The failure led to disruptions across all of the group's airlines. The disruptions caused Frankfurt Airport (FRA) to be closed to all arrivals. This forced hundreds of flights and thousands of passengers to change their travel plans. With all the flight disruptions and anticipated disruptions, the German air transit industry is moving towards what looks to be an unforgettable weekend.

What do you think of these website outages? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: AP News