Airport blames cyber attack after screens fail

Bristol Airport has blamed a “speculative” cyber attack by ransomware for causing flight information screens to fail for two days.

A spokesman said the displays were taken offline early on Friday as a precautionary measure to contain the attack. As with the display boards problem at Gatwick airport last month, holidaymakers at Bristol had to read departure times off whiteboards scattered around the airport.

Ransomware hijacks computer systems, only returning control to the owner if a ransom is paid. The airport said no such “ransom” had been paid to return the systems to working order.