Customer data stolen in cyberattack on three British airports

Private data on millions of customers has been stolen in a cyberattack on three British airports, the Manchester Airports Group announced Thursday, saying the attack did not impact flights or airport operations.

MAG, which operates the Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, said the data of 8.7 million customers had been compromised.

The information included email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.


The cyberattack took place over the weekend, and MAG said it became aware of it Tuesday.

The incident has "not resulted in any operational disruption" and "airport operations remain unaffected," MAG said in a statement.

"At no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised," it said, adding that bank and payment details were also not affected.

MAG attributed the cyberattack to "an unauthorised third party", without further details.

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

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

Britain was hit by a wave of cyberattacks last year targeting companies including carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and the retailers Marks and Spencer, Harrods and the Co-op food chain.