Cyber Attack impacts some Delta customers; Adelman not affected

Delta Air Lines said it was recently informed that a “small subset” of its customers’ payment data may have been compromised due to a security breach via a third party vendor called [24]7.ai. Delta uses [24]7.ai to provide online chat services. According to [24]7.ai, customer payment information may have been accessed but it believes other personal information including passport numbers or SkyMiles account information was not compromised.

The Cyber Attack is said to have taken place from September 26 to October 12, 2017 and also impacted several other major businesses including Sears and Best Buy. 

Please note, the [24]7.ai data breach does not affect any customers booking Delta Air Lines through Adelman platforms.  

Travel disruptions continue in Europe

While labor strikes seem to be the norm in Europe, especially during peak travel season, France is already looking at a particularly rough spring with multiple strikes planned for Air France and French rail over the coming weeks.

Workers at Air France have already conducted several walk-offs with two more planned for April 17-18 and April 23-24. This labor action has forced the airline to cancel some flights operated by both Air France and Joon. Air France and Delta have both issued waivers for travelers wishing to change their reservation. Please see the Adelman Travel Website at www.adelmantravel.com or the Air France website at https://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common/page_flottante/hp/news-air-traffic-air-france.htm for more information.

French railway workers are planning a series of strikes now through the end of June. The strikes are scheduled for two days in every five days. Affected rail service includes Eurostar, along with SNCF services including TGV, RER (lines A, B, C, D and E) Intercity trains, TER trains and Thalys. More information can be found at https://en.oui.sncf/en/train/strike.

In the UK, airport officials are warning that the installation of a new air traffic control system could cause delays at London Heathrow and Gatwick along with several other airports across southern England through the end of April. Officials say average delays at Heathrow will be about 20 minutes, while delays at Gatwick might be limited to about 10 minutes.

LAX biometric self-boarding test yielding positive results: LAX speeds up security checks

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is partnering with British Airways and Lufthansa on a test of biometric self-boarding gates at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX airport. This first multi-carrier project uses facial recognition cameras at special gates to capture an image of each passenger. The image is sent to the CBP database for quick real-time verification. If the passenger is confirmed, neither a passport nor boarding pass needs to be displayed at the gate.

The project is part of the CBP’s initiative to increase the use of biometric screening since Congress has mandated that biometric data be collected on all foreign nationals visiting the United States. Airlines are looking to the new technology to help increase boarding efficiency.

Officials say that Qantas and Korean Air are expected to join in the testing at LAX, which is expected to last into the summer. Lufthansa said it hopes to bring these special gates to all airports it serves in the U.S. 

In related news, airport officials at LAX said the screening of carry-on items will also become quicker thanks to the installation of more Automated Security Lanes (ASLs), which allow five travelers to load personal items into screening bins at the same time. LAX has 27 ASLs operating in Terminals 2, 4, 7 and in the Tom Bradley International Terminal. It will open three ASLs in Terminal 3 later this year.