Japan Airlines (JAL) experienced a cyberattack on Thursday, leading to delays for over 20 domestic flights. The airline was able to restore its systems after a few hours of disruption.
The incident began early Thursday morning when JAL’s network, connecting internal and external systems, malfunctioned. Although there was a temporary issue with the network, JAL emphasized that flight safety was not impacted.
The airline identified the issue as a data overload attack, which aims to overwhelm and crash a system by flooding it with excessive traffic. JAL clarified that no viruses were involved, and no customer data was compromised.
By late morning, the attack had caused delays for 24 domestic flights, each delayed by over 30 minutes. Additionally, JAL briefly suspended ticket sales for both domestic and international flights departing Thursday, though these services resumed a few hours later.
Japanese cybersecurity has been a growing concern among experts, especially as the country strengthens its defense capabilities and increases cooperation with the United States. In June, Japan’s space agency reported cyberattacks since 2023, although no sensitive information was compromised. Last year, a cyberattack paralyzed operations at a Nagoya port container terminal for three days.
While JAL struggled with the attack, other major Japanese carriers, including ANA Holdings, Skymark, and Starflyer, were unaffected. The timing of the cyberattack was particularly challenging, as it coincided with the busy year-end holiday travel season. Passengers at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport were seen crowded in terminals, awaiting further updates.
Japan’s transport ministry urged JAL to expedite its recovery process and assist passengers who were affected by the delays.
