airBaltic sent booking details to the wrong passengers after email system error

Latvian carrier airBaltic told customers that a technical fault in its email distribution system had sent some passengers the flight reservation details of other travelers.

The airline said the fault occurred on May 12, 2023 and affected roughly 0.009 percent of the reservations it had handled that year. It described the cause as an internal technical error with no malicious activity or outside involvement, and said the personal data of passengers outside that group was not affected.

The misdirected emails contained booking confirmations that could include a passenger's full name, date of birth, email address, itinerary and reservation number. airBaltic said no payment method details or other financial information were included.

The reservation number was the sharpest problem. Because a booking reference can be used to view or change an itinerary, recipients of the misdirected emails were in a position to alter another passenger's trip. airBaltic offered to issue replacement booking numbers to any affected customer who asked.

As a precaution the airline disabled online check-in on affected flights and required those passengers to check in at the airport counter, at no extra charge, so that identities could be verified in person. Extra services that were normally purchased online had to be arranged by phone, email or at the counter while the restriction was in place.