Millions of airport customers have data stolen in hack

Three UK airports have been affected by the breach

Close to nine million people who have used three major UK airports have had their data stolen in what has been described as a "cyber security incident".

Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which owns Mancheser, East Midlands and Stansted airports have revealed that 8.7 million customers' contact details, postcodes and vehicle registrations were stolen by hackers on the weekend beginning 22 August 2026.

It's reported that the criminals demanded an undisclosed ransom for the return of the data which was not paid by MAG.

The company believes that the data accessed was related to WiFi signups within the airport terminals.

Emails have been sent to customers affected to inform them of the breach.

In a statement, a MAG spokesperson said: "Manchester Airports group has been subject to a cyber security incident by an unauthorised third party. A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings and in-airport WIFI sign-ups at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports.

“We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisors and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems. We have informed and are working with the relevant authorities. At no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.

“The incident has not resulted in any operational disruption. Airport operations remain unaffected and customer parking services continue to operate normally.

“Neither MAG nor the system accessed hold customers’ bank or payment details. The data that has been accessed includes customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.

"We would like to reassure customers that Manchester Airport Group takes the security of customer information extremely seriously and we apologise for any inconvenience or concern caused.”