Japan Airlines suffered a cyberattack on Thursday, affecting its luggage services and delaying flights at the start of the New Year holiday season. The airline reported that customers could resume purchasing tickets for domestic and international flights after a temporary halt. No personal information was leaked or damaged by computer viruses, according to JAL.
The issues began around 7:25 a.m., disrupting over 70 domestic and international flights by up to four hours, with four domestic flights canceled. While ticket sales were halted, reservations previously made remained valid.
JAL suspected it may have been the victim of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, which involves overwhelming networks with data from multiple sources in a short period. The airline restored its system at around 1:20 p.m., after determining the cause of the issue.
The government requested JAL to repair its system as soon as possible to respond appropriately to affected customers. Other airlines operating in Japan, such as All Nippon Airways and Skymark Airlines, did not experience any cyberattacks and operated normally.
Passengers at Tokyo’s Haneda airport were seen questioning staff and checking their phones anxiously, but there was little noticeable disruption at Narita airport. “I’m worried that there’s trouble,” said a man in his 30s who was flying to Ishigaki Island. The airline is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, allowing customers to continue with their travel plans.
Source: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/12/33b9ee9a0030-urgent-jals-system-under-cyberattack-domestic-and-intl-flights-delayed.html