October 23, 2026: Korean Air confirmed that customer booking reference numbers leaked through Amadeus, the reservation provider it uses. Korean press reports say Asiana Airlines confirmed the same leak. The airlines say payment card numbers were not included, and no customer count has been given. The catalog entries are Korean Air and Asiana Airlines.
What happened
Amadeus told Korean Air late on October 20, 2026 that personal data might have leaked. Korean Air says an intruder used login credentials assigned to an account in Amadeus's system. The estimated window runs from August 2023 to September 2026, and the investigation is still open. Korean Air says there are no signs of intrusion into its own database. Korean press reports say both airlines emailed affected customers on October 23.
What data is confirmed
- Booking reference numbers, also called reservation numbers. Korean Air says this is the only item confirmed so far.
What is not confirmed
- Names, contact details, passport data and payment data have not been confirmed as exposed. Korean Air says payment card numbers were not included.
- The number of affected customers has not been stated by either airline.
- Whether anyone has misused the data. Korean Air says no secondary harm has been confirmed so far.
- The Asiana Airlines part. The English-language MoneyToday report names only Korean Air. Korean-language reports say both airlines confirmed the leak. We could not open either airline's notice directly.
Amadeus and other 2026 incidents
According to Korean Air, Amadeus is blocking the account used in the intrusion and is monitoring the dark web for the leaked data. Korean Air has asked Amadeus for stronger protections to prevent a repeat. Amadeus has also been linked to other 2026 incidents. Japan Airlines and Japan Transocean Air reported reservation data for about 92,000 customers, and Amadeus iHotelier was linked to a separate intrusion. See our Japan Airlines Amadeus post and Amadeus iHotelier post.
What to do
- Do not click links or open attachments in emails or texts about a booking you did not expect. Reservation numbers can be used in phishing messages.
- Check your booking on the airline's official site or app, not through a link in a message.
- Do not give card details or personal information to anyone who contacts you about a booking by phone or message, and be wary of requests to re-enter payment details.
- Read any follow-up notice from the airline on its official site.
Sources and sourcing note
- Korean Air, customer notice on the Amadeus incident (2026). Our tools could not open this page (HTTP 403).
- MoneyToday, English translation, October 23, 2026
- ZDNet Korea, "Korean Air and Asiana confirm personal data leak" (translated from Korean), October 24, 2026
Sourcing note: the English MoneyToday report names only Korean Air as affected, while the Korean-language reports name both airlines. The Asiana part therefore rests on thinner sourcing. No customer counts have been published.