Summary
- Qantas app glitch revealed strangers’ personal information, including names, itineraries and points balance.
- No deliberate cyber attack believed to have occurred, just a system glitch due to recent changes.
- Customers did not have access to financial info, but some claim they may have been able to alter bookings.
Qantas has responded after a system glitch with the airline’s app displayed the personal details of strangers to some users logging in. The error reportedly affected frequent flyers accounts, showing information such as names, itineraries and points balance. Qantas has since fixed the app and said it was not the result of a deliberate cyber attack but a glitch caused by recent system changes.
Glitch hits Qantas system
The Australian carrier has apologized following the glitch, which appears to have started in the early hours of Wednesday. Many customers took to social media to complain that, after logging into the Qantas app, they were able to access the details of complete strangers.
According to Qantas, this information included “name, upcoming flight details, points balance and status.” At 09:00 AEST, Qantas said it was investigating the issue, followed by another update just over an hour later that claimed the problem “may have been caused by recent system changes.”
Photo: Vidit Luthra | Shutterstock
Two hours later, at 12:15 local time, it reiterated this as the likely source of the problem and said there was no sign of an intentional cyberattack. It then provided a final update at 16:50 that the app was now back to normal following the glitch, adding that there were two separate periods of this issue occurring.
How bad was it?
Qantas has confirmed that no further personal or financial information was displayed to strangers, and that it was not possible to transfer or use accumulated Qantas Points from other passengers. However, it did not confirm whether existing itineraries were amendable by strangers, a point some customers have alleged may have been possible.
One customer, Clare Gemmell, told The Guardian,
“You could see boarding passes for other people, one of my colleagues could see a flight going to Melbourne and it looked like you could interact and actually affect the booking.”
The airline added that it was unaware of any instances of a passenger attempting to travel on someone else’s boarding pass, saying it had procedures in place to ensure this didn’t happen. Several customers have claimed that, after closing and restarting the app, they would then be shown a different passenger’s details.
Related
Qantas IT Glitch Leaves 1,000s Of Passengers Waiting At Airports
Qantas’ challenging week only became harder following an IT meltdown on Sunday.
Unfortunately, it appears phishing bots took advantage of the situation, with several fake Qantas customer service accounts replying to social media posts about the glitch. Qantas advised passengers to be aware of scams on social media, and suggested that they log out and back into their frequent flyer accounts to try and fix the issue.
Were you affected by this glitch? Let us know in the comment section.
