Cyberattack exposes data of 8.7m customers at three UK airports

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) announced Thursday that a cyberattack has compromised the personal data of 8.7 million customers who used its airports. The breach affected Manchester, London Stansted, and East Midlands airports, with the unauthorized third party gaining access to customer information over the weekend.

“

At no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.

The compromised data includes email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registration details, and postcodes. MAG emphasized that bank and payment details were not affected, and crucially, passenger safety and aviation security remained intact. Airport operations experienced no disruption due to the incident.

MAG became aware of the cyberattack on Tuesday and immediately took steps to contain the risk. The group is working with specialist advisors to protect its customers and systems. The data accessed relates specifically to bookings for car parks, lounges, and Fast Track services, as well as in-airport WiFi sign-ups.

“

A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings and in-airport WiFi sign-up.

This incident follows a series of cyberattacks that have targeted British companies in the past year, including major players like Jaguar Land Rover and retail chains such as Marks and Spencer, Harrods, and the Co-op. The specific details of the third party responsible for the MAG attack have not been disclosed.

“

We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisors and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems.