The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a security breach at Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania, where hackers accessed the public address (PA) system on Tuesday (October 14). The unauthorized messages included "Free Palestine" and expletives directed at President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Similar incidents were reported at three Canadian airports: Kelowna International Airport, Victoria International Airport, and Windsor International Airport.
CBS 21 repported that the messages praised Hamas and criticized both the Trump administration and Israel. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy condemned the incident on social media, calling it "absolutely unacceptable" and acknowledging the fear it caused among travelers.
Harrisburg airport spokesperson Scott Miller stated that an unauthorized user gained access to the PA system, but the message did not contain threats against the airport or its passengers. The PA system was promptly shut off, and the incident is under police investigation. During the breach, one flight was boarding, and the aircraft was searched as a precaution, but no security issues were found.
In Canada, Transport Canada is collaborating with federal security partners to ensure airport safety and prevent future incidents. At Kelowna International Airport, both the PA system and flight information display screens were compromised, leading staff to use megaphones for boarding announcements. Victoria International Airport attributed its breach to a cloud-based software issue, while Windsor International Airport managed to quickly remove unauthorized content and resume normal operations.