MOSCOW, Russia — Russian carrier Aeroflot (AFLT.MM) said it canceled dozens of flights on Monday after what it called a failure in its information systems, and a mysterious hacker group claimed responsibility for what it called a crippling cyberattack.
The national airline did not provide further details about the cause of the problem or how long it would take to resolve it.
A statement purportedly issued by a hacking group called Silent Crew said it carried out the operation in cooperation with a Belarusian group called Cyberpartisans PY, and linked it to the war in Ukraine.
The statement, whose authenticity could not be verified by Reuters, read: “Glory to Ukraine! Long live Belarus!”
The Silent Crew group had previously claimed responsibility for an attack on a Russian real estate database in January.
Aeroflot said it has cancelled more than 40 flights after reporting a malfunction in its information systems.
Since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February
Aeroflot said, “Specialists are currently working to minimize the impact on flight schedules and restore normal service operations.”
On Telegram, more than 40 canceled flights were listed to destinations across Russia, as well as to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
Aeroflot urged passengers whose flights from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport were canceled to retrieve their checked baggage and depart.
The Baza news agency reported scenes of chaos at the airport, with passengers queuing in long lines to exit.
The statement issued on behalf of Silent Crew stated that the cyberattack was the result of a year-long operation that deeply penetrated Aeroflot’s network, destroyed 7,000 servers, and took control of the personal computers of its employees, including senior managers. The statement did not provide any evidence to support these claims.
The company threatened that it would soon begin publishing “the personal data of all Russians who have previously flown with Aeroflot.”
Despite sanctions imposed on Russia due to its war in Ukraine that have severely limited travel and routes, Aeroflot remains among the world’s top 20 airlines by passenger numbers.
In 2024, Aeroflot Group’s passenger numbers reached 55.3 million, according to the airline’s website.
