Sunwing has announced its operations have begun to "normalize" following a reported cyber-attack on a third-party provider on 02NOV. However, the operator advised that pax can "still expect delays we work on recovery flights and resuming regular flight schedules as soon as possible."
As reported by Open Jaw on 03NOV, Sunwing was affected by a "system outage" with a "third party provider" that affected some flight plans. According to the operator, the outage also affected "multiple" other airlines across North America.
"We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and are working with the provider to have this issue resolved as soon as possible," said Sunwing in at the time of the service outage in a flight alert.
According to reports, the affected third-party provider appears to be Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen, which provides analytical services to air carriers. As reported by the National Post, Jeppesen was impacted by a "cyber incident" which affected certain flight planning products and services.
"We are currently experiencing technical issues with some of our products, services and communication channels. We are working to restore functionality as soon as possible," Jeppesen said in an alert on its web site. The alert clarified that the disruption was affecting the service's ability to receipt and process new Notice to Air Missions (NOTAMs) and the and distribution of current NOTAMs.
“There has been some flight planning disruption, but at this time we have no reason to believe that this incident poses a threat to aircraft or flight safety,” Boeing said in an email statement.
In a statement to Global News on 03NOV regarding flight delays at YEG, Sunwing said: “We are doing everything we can to keep [passengers] up to date, comfortable and fed with provided meal vouchers. Since recovering the ability to dispatch our flight plans, our teams... are working tirelessly on securing additional planes for all affected passengers and resuming regular flight schedules as soon as possible.”
While the airline appears to have its systems back on track, it's still clearing up a backlog of flight disruptions, and says customers can still expect delays as the operator works on recovery flights and resuming regular flight schedules "as soon as possible."
Sunwing customers are encouraged to continue checking their flight status on Sunwing's web site for "the most up-to-date information on travel times and transfers."
