Last year, there were 10 major cyberattacks targeting the aviation industry.194 These attacks, combined with digital system failures, emerged as a key operational risk for aviation, disrupting airport operations and underscoring the sector’s growing vulnerability as it becomes increasingly digitized. A major ransomware incident targeting a critical airline technology provider’s check-in and boarding systems caused cascading disruptions at key European airports (including London Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin) in September 2025,195 forcing a revert to manual processes that led to significant delays, flight cancellations and passenger backlogs. This incident highlighted how tightly interconnected digital systems, third-party dependencies and legacy infrastructure can create single points of failure that have continent-wide operational impacts. It demonstrated that even short system outages can affect airport operations, passenger processing, baggage handling and scheduling.The rising frequency of cyber-related events has prompted airports, operators and regulators to elevate cyber resilience as a priority risk area. As geopolitical tensions rise and the digital footprint of aviation expands, cybersecurity is increasingly competing for attention and resources with sustainability initiatives. In this context, operational disruptions from cyber-attacks not only have immediate economic and service implications but also pose barriers to long-term sustainability goals by diverting investments, complicating planning and undermining confidence in digital transformation. These risks are increasingly intertwined with other forms of disruption such as drone sightings196 and system outages and illustrate how digital vulnerabilities can quickly escalate into complex, multi-faceted operational crises.5.3 Operational disruptions from cyber-attacks and digital system failures Energy system disruptions in 2025 had measurable operational impacts on aviation, reinforcing concerns around grid reliability as airports accelerate electrification. The Iberian Peninsula power outage in April 2025 affected major airports in Spain and Portugal, disrupting flight operations, passenger processing and ground services as electricity supply imbalances cascaded across critical infrastructure.197,198 While backup generation enabled partial continuity, most airports are designed for short-duration outages, leaving them exposed during prolonged grid failures, particularly as electricity demand grows. Similar vulnerabilities were evident in the electricity substation fire near London Heathrow in March 2025,199 which resulted in the cancellation or diversion of hundreds of flights and disruption to hundreds of thousands of passengers, underscoring how single-point failures in external energy infrastructure can rapidly propagate through aviation networks.From a sustainability perspective, these incidents highlight a growing tension: electrification accelerates decarbonization, but without parallel investment in energy infrastructure, it can expose airports to greater operational risk through increased dependence on outdated grid systems. Internally, the electrification of ground operations, terminal systems and digital infrastructure can add significant load to ageing assets that were not designed for higher and more variable electricity demand, reinforcing the need for targeted investment and grid upgrades. Externally, exposure to state-level power outages reflects the importance of non- centralized energy solutions (e.g. onsite renewable generation, storage and back-up systems) and the need to recognize airports as critical infrastructure, comparable to other essential public services. During 2026, airports and policy-makers will need to increasingly embed energy resilience into sustainability strategies and policy frameworks, prioritizing diversified supply, onsite generation where possible, storage and closer coordination with energy providers.5.4 Energy system outages and grid reliability risks Global Aviation Sustainability Outlook 2026 47