Multiple investigations are underway after hackers gained access to public facing information systems at three different Canadian airports, including two in B.C. The cyberbreach briefly delayed some flights at Kelowna International Airport on Tuesday after hackers gained access to terminal information screens and the public address system shortly after 5:00 p.m. The screens displayed pro-Hamas messaging saying, “Israel lost the war, Hamas won.” The displays also referred to U.S. President Donald Trump as a “pig.” Whoever gained access to the airport’s systems also took over the public address speakers to play audio messages. “We have a cybersecurity response plan. And so, we activated that yesterday evening. We were able to decouple, disconnect, those messages very, very quickly,” airport CEO Sam Samaddar. “And then, of course, lead through an investigation in terms of what had happened. And so, we are focused on that.” Images posted to social media from the airport show staff using handheld megaphones to communicate with passengers. Samaddar told CTV News two flights were impacted, with one departure delayed by four hours and an arrival delayed by two hours. Airport staff immediately alerted the RCMP, who told CTV News an investigation is underway. Transport Canada confirms it is also investigating the incident, along with similar cyberattacks at Victoria International Airport and Windsor International Airport in Ontario. Another incident also took place at Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania, where an unauthorized audio announcement was played containing crude language about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump. In a statement to CTV News, Victoria Airport Authority said a third-party gained access to the facility’s cloud-based external public address system through a software provider. “As a result, a file containing unauthorized audio content was uploaded externally and played for a few minutes throughout the terminal,” the airport authority said. “Our operations team responded immediately and successfully stopped the broadcast.” The statement went on to say there were no operational delays, disruptions or cancellations as a result of the incident. Gordon Phillips, a regional vice-president with cybersecurity firm Fortinet, told CTV News his company tracked 12 billion cyberattacks in Canada in the first half of 2025. He said malicious actors are constantly testing security systems in search of vulnerabilities. “Constant threat exposure management is key. Making sure staff are educated, it’s no different than workplace safety in any other organization,” he said. “Cyber has to become a regular conversation around that. Cybersecurity awareness is critical in every organization.”
