TOKYO – Japan Airlines (JAL) faced a cyberattack on Dec 26 that disrupted its network, delaying several domestic and international flights.
In a post on social media platform X, JAL reported that the network issues began around 7:24 a.m. local time (6:24 a.m. in Singapore). By 8:56 a.m., the airline identified the cause – a malfunctioning router – and resolved it by temporarily shutting down the device.
The airline, Japan’s second-largest after All Nippon Airways (ANA), suspended ticket sales for flights departing on Dec 26 and delayed at least nine domestic flights, according to local media. “We identified and addressed the cause of the issue. We are checking the system recovery status,” JAL said in its statement, adding an apology for the inconvenience caused.
Meanwhile, ANA confirmed that its systems were unaffected.
This incident follows a recent technical glitch at American Airlines, which briefly grounded flights on Christmas Eve, disrupting holiday travel for thousands.
JAL’s cyberattack is part of a broader trend targeting Japanese entities. In 2023, Japan’s space agency JAXA reported a cyberattack that attempted to access sensitive information, while Nagoya Port faced a ransomware attack attributed to the Russian-linked Lockbit group. The same year, Japan’s National Centre of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity was reportedly infiltrated by hackers for nine months.
Other notable incidents include a 2022 cyberattack on a Toyota supplier that halted domestic production for a day, and a large-scale attack in June 2023 that forced Japanese video-sharing platform Niconico to suspend services.
Cybersecurity concerns continue to grow as Japanese industries face increasing threats from global and domestic attackers.