Manchester Airports Group confirmed that hackers accessed the data of about 8.7 million customers across Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, the company said this week. [1] The exposed information included email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registration numbers and postcodes tied to car park, lounge, fast-track and in-airport WiFi bookings. [1]

MAG said the breach did not touch bank or payment details and that "at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised." [1] Airport operations continued normally, and customer parking services remained unaffected, the company said. [1] The three airports carried a combined 54 million passengers last year, and the breach struck during the peak summer travel season, as families flew home before the new school year. [1]

Stansted emailed affected customers directly, warning them to watch for phishing attempts impersonating the airport. "We would urge you to be particularly cautious of unexpected emails, calls or text messages claiming to be from us," the airport wrote. "We will never contact you unexpectedly to ask for payment or banking information." [1]

Lauren Wills-Dixon, a partner at law firm Gordons, said the scale reflects how much data airports accumulate through ancillary services. "Airports sell a number of services including lounge access, parking and fast-track bookings," she said. "As a result, operators will hold large amounts of customer data." [1] The breach follows a string of UK cyberattacks over the past year, including incidents at Jaguar Land Rover, Marks & Spencer, Harrods and the Co-op.

-- DAVID CHEN, Beijing