Manchester Airports Group Hack Exposes 8.7M Records

Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, confirmed on August 27-28, 2026 that hackers gained unauthorised access to systems holding customer data.

The company said the stolen information includes email addresses, phone numbers, postcodes and vehicle registration numbers connected to airport Wi-Fi sign-ups, car park bookings, airport lounge access and Fast Track service reservations. MAG stated that neither the company nor the affected system held customers' bank or payment card information, and that the breach caused no disruption to flights or airport operations.

Several outlets, including Bitdefender's HotForSecurity and BleepingComputer, reported that around 8.7 million customers were affected, based on details from MAG's disclosure. MAG itself has not published an official precise number, so the figure should be treated as a widely reported estimate rather than a confirmed company statistic.

As a precaution, MAG temporarily suspended its online "Manage My Booking" service, directing affected travelers to its phone line instead. The company said it knows the identity of the group behind the attack but has not named it publicly, and that specialist cybersecurity advisers and relevant authorities have been informed. No ransomware or extortion group had publicly claimed responsibility for the attack at the time of reporting.

MAG is advising customers whose data may have been exposed to stay alert for suspicious emails or text messages and to avoid clicking on links from unsolicited communications, warning that the combination of contact details and travel-related information raises the risk of targeted phishing attempts.