Airports in Pennsylvania and Canada were hacked on Tuesday with pro-Hamas messages that attacked President Donald Trump, forcing passengers on at least one plane to deboard over security concerns.
Hackers took control of the public address system and screens at Harrisburg International Airport and three Canadian airports to broadcast profane messages targeting Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The hacks are under investigation by law enforcement in both the United States and Canada.
“F**k Netanyahu and Trump. Turkish hacker, cyber-Islam is here… Free, free Palestine,” a message blasted over the PA system at Harrisburg International Airport said.
Similar messages were played in Canada at the Victoria International Airport, the Kelowna International Airport in British Columbia, and the Windsor International Airport in Ontario.
In Harrisburg, the TSA ordered passengers off a boarded plane for an additional security check.
“As the safety and security of our customers and employees comes before all else, Delta followed the direction of TSA to return to the gate and complete a security check of the aircraft. We appreciate our customers’ patience and cooperation,” Delta told Fox News.
In a statement, the Harrisburg International Airport said that an “unauthorized user” gained access to its PA system to play a recorded message. “The message was political in nature and did not contain any threats against the airport, our tenants, airlines, or passengers. The PA system was temporarily shut down, and the message was removed,” the airport said.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said that the Federal Aviation Administration was working with the airport to figure out what happened.
“This is absolutely unacceptable and understandably scared travelers,” Duffy said. “The [FAA] and I are coordinating with [Harrisburg International] to help get to the bottom of this hack.”
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Kelowna International Airport said it was able to remove the unauthorized messages within minutes and that the hack was limited to a cloud-based third-party software. Transport Canada, the country’s government transportation body, and Canadian police determined that the messages did not pose “a direct threat towards the travelling public,” the airport said.
One passenger told CNN that airport staff used megaphones to relay information after the PA system was shut down at Kelowna International Airport.
“The airport staff was about as in the dark as we were,” the passenger said. “They even had to resort to using megaphones to give people boarding information because the intercom was down.”
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