Hawaiian Airlines, an Alaska Airlines-owned company, has disclosed a cyber attack that impacted several of its IT systems. The airline confirmed the cyber attack in two updates posted on its website, claiming that its full flight schedule and guest travel aren’t impacted.
No information on the nature of the attack or the steps the airline took to address the issue was included in the update. It does, however, claim that once the issue came to light, the airline notified relevant authorities and is working with experts to investigate the issue.
The latest update mentions that the airline is still working to address the issue that affected some of its IT systems. Considering the company’s claims that its operations weren’t affected, it could be that the cyber attack was caught before it could incur any significant damage.
The company’s announcement bears all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack. However, Hawaiian Airlines hasn’t confirmed any data leaks at the moment, and Candid.Technology didn’t spot any ransomware groups claiming responsibility for the attack at the time of writing. It could be a botched ransomware attack, but we’ll have to wait for more information from the company to draw a conclusion.
Airlines are a very suitable target for ransomware operators, as evident by an increasing number of hacks. WestJet Airlines, Canada’s second-largest airline, also disclosed a cyber attack involving its app and several internal systems in June 2025.
A successful attack on an airline can halt its operations fully, forcing panicked executives to pay the demanded ransom to get operations back up and running. Airports are also equally vulnerable. An August 2024 cyber attack on the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport significantly disrupted the check-in process and other essential airport services. This turned out to be a ransomware attack carried out by the Rhysida group, who were also able to access personal data of the airport visitors.
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