Japan Airlines (JAL) announced on Thursday that its network had been the target of a cyber attack, causing at least 14 domestic flights to be delayed for up to an hour and some international flights to be disrupted.
The airline said the problem began around 7:25 p.m., forcing it to suspend ticket sales for all domestic and international flights for the rest of the day, Kyodo News reported. Passengers who had already purchased tickets were informed that their bookings would remain valid.
JAL said it was working to counter the cyberattack and determine its source, adding that the attack could have a major impact on its flights. The airline managed to temporarily shut down the router that was believed to have been breached. According to Kyodo News, investigation sources said that JAL has contacted the Metropolitan Police Department and is investigating the matter.
Earlier in the day, sharing a post on Twitter, Japan Airlines wrote, “We identified the cause of the problem and resolved it. We are checking the system recovery status. Both domestic and international flights departing today “Sales have been suspended. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Another post read, “We regret to inform you that our network system is down. The cause is being investigated. This may potentially impact the operation of both domestic and international flights. Due to inconvenience We sincerely apologize for this.”
