Manchester Airports Group has confirmed that hackers demanded a ransom after a cyber security incident that exposed customer data linked to Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports. The UK airport operator refused to pay, while stating that passenger safety, aviation security and airport operations were not affected.
The breach involved data mainly connected to airport Wi-Fi registrations and service bookings, including parking, lounges and Fast Track access. Information accessed included email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes, with reporting indicating that about 8.7 million records were involved.
MAG contained the incident, notified the relevant authorities and brought in cybersecurity specialists to help secure its systems. The company has not identified the attacker or disclosed the ransom amount, and there is no confirmation that any group publicly claimed responsibility. The affected data did not include bank or payment details.