Hackers have accessed the personal data of about 8.7 million customers linked to three of the UK’s biggest airports, their operator Manchester Airport Group (MAG) has confirmed.
MAG, which runs Manchester Airport, London Stansted and East Midlands Airport, said the breach stemmed from a “cyber security incident” involving an unauthorised third party. The company stressed that “at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised” and said neither MAG nor the affected system stored customers’ bank or payment details.
Most of the information obtained is understood to have been limited to customer email addresses, largely connected to in-terminal wifi sign-ups.
MAG said the accessed data also included phone numbers, vehicle registration numbers and postcodes. Despite the hack, the group said day-to-day activity across all three airports continued as normal, with operations “unaffected”.
A MAG spokesperson said: “Manchester Airports group has been subject to a cyber security incident by an unauthorised third party.
“A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and fast track bookings and in-airport wifi sign-ups at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports.
“We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisers and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems.
“We have informed and are working with the relevant authorities. At no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.
“The incident has not resulted in any operational disruption. Airport operations remain unaffected and customer parking services continue to operate normally.”
The spokesperson added: “Neither Mag nor the system accessed hold customers’ bank or payment details. The data that has been accessed includes customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.
“We would like to reassure customers that Manchester Airport Group takes the security of customer information extremely seriously and we apologise for any inconvenience or concern caused.”
The airports involved handle vast numbers of travellers each year. More than 32 million passengers flew into or out of Manchester Airport last year, while more than 30 million travelled through Stansted and four million through East Midlands.
