Ransomware Attack Cripples SpiceJet: Flights Delayed, Schedule Disrupted, Passengers Angry Over Hours Of Delay

India’s low-cost airline carrier SpiceJet suffered from a ransomware attack on Tuesday night. This has caused the airline to change the schedules of morning flights.

The newest updates are that the situation has been rectified and flights will be operating as per usual. 

Read on to find out all details about this ransomware attack and its consequences.

SpiceJet Systems Attacked By Ransomware

Systems of SpiceJet were attacked by ransomware, which was confirmed through a tweet. As per SpiceJet’s tweet, “Certain SpiceJet systems faced an attempted ransomware attack last night that impacted and slowed down morning flight departures today. Our IT team has contained and rectified the situation and flights are operating normally now.” 

There are 91 aircraft with the airline, and 13 of these are max planes and 46 are older versions of the Boeing 737 aircraft.

The ransomware affected the morning flight departures on Wednesday, and hundreds of passengers were stranded at several different airports. 

An aggravated passenger shared a video on Twitter and said, “We are stuck here since 3 hrs and 45 mins? Neither cancelling nor operating, sitting in the flight not even the airport. No breakfast, no response!”

The ground staff reportedly conveyed to the passengers that the servers were down, as they asked about the delay.

SpiceJet Charging Money For Issuing Boarding Pass

Recently, there was news that passengers are being charged an extra sum of Rs 200 for getting their boarding passes at the airport.

Users were rightfully frustrated over being forced to pay for something that a) they already paid for (via flight ticket) and b) may require the pass if they don’t have a phone.

A Twitter user brought to attention the airline’s new rule in which a person will have to pay extra to get a boarding card at the check in counter.

Spicejet Flights Not Allowed To Fly Because Of Pending Payments

Recently, multiple SpiceJet planes were kept from operating at the Delhi airport by Air Traffic Control. The reason was failure to make the requisite daily payment to the Airport Authority of India.

Almost twelve SpiceJet take-offs were delayed in the early hours of Friday by as much as 90 minutes. ATC, which is an arm of AAI, was instructed not to give clearance to the airline’s aircraft to take-off as the payment was not made.