Cyberattack Disrupts Japan Airlines Operations During Holiday Travel

The airline faced delays, ticket sales suspensions, and baggage check-in issues but has since restored its systems and resumed operations.

Japan Airlines (JAL) confirmed a cyberattack early Thursday morning, causing delays to over 20 domestic flights and affecting ticket sales for several hours.
The disruption was attributed to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, which overwhelmed the airline's network with massive data transmissions.
JAL identified and isolated the cause of the issue by 8:56 a.m. local time, restoring most systems within hours without compromising flight safety or customer data.
The cyberattack delayed flights by up to 50 minutes at major airports, including Tokyo's Haneda, but no flights were canceled, and operations have largely normalized.
This incident highlights ongoing cybersecurity vulnerabilities in Japan, following recent attacks on other major institutions, including the space agency and key infrastructure.