Four airports in the US and Canada experienced unusual disruptions as hackers took control of their public address systems and flight information screens.
The airports affected were Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania, Kelowna International Airport and Victoria International Airport in British Columbia, and Windsor International Airport in Ontario.
Travellers recorded the unauthorised messages, which included praise for the Palestinian group Hamas and criticism of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At Harrisburg International Airport, a hacker who called himself “Cyber Islam” used the PA system to broadcast a 10-minute recorded message.
The message included chants of “Free Palestine” and used strong language against Trump and Netanyahu.
Airport officials quickly shut off the system and assured the public that no threats were made against passengers or staff. However, for safety, authorities searched a Delta flight boarding at the time of the hack.
In Kelowna, a similar incident took place where hackers accessed both the flight information screens and the PA system. This caused confusion, as airport staff could not use the intercom and instead had to rely on megaphones to communicate with passengers.
Messages supporting Hamas and calling for “Free Palestine” were displayed and broadcast throughout the terminal. Officials removed the unauthorised messages and worked to restore the systems as quickly as possible.
Victoria International Airport said the issue was caused by a problem with cloud-based software that allowed the unauthorised message to play, and they apologised for the disruption.
At Windsor International Airport, the team removed the images and shut off the PA announcements, returning operations to normal.
‘Absolutely unacceptable’
Transportation officials in both the United States and Canada are treating the incidents very seriously. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is working with Harrisburg Airport to investigate the hack, while Transport Canada is coordinating with federal security agencies, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority to look into the breaches at the Canadian airports.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for these coordinated attacks. Security teams are focused on ensuring passenger safety and preventing similar incidents in the future.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the hacking “absolutely unacceptable” and said the events understandably frightened travellers.