Australian airline Qantas said Wednesday that cybercriminals had targeted one of its customer contact centers, breaching a computer system used by a third party.   

The airline said the system contained sensitive data on 6 million Qantas customers, such as customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and birthdays.

It stressed, however, that credit card details and passport numbers were not stored in the system.

"The incident occurred when a cybercriminal targeted a call center and gained access to a third party customer servicing platform," Qantas said in a statement.

"There is no impact to Qantas' operations or the safety of the airline."

What did Qantas' CEO say?

The company said it had launched a probe into the cyberattack.

"We are continuing to investigate the proportion of the data that has been stolen, though we expect it will be significant."

It added that it was contacting customers to let them know what happened and provide details about the support available.

Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson apologized for the incident.

"We sincerely apologize to our customers and we recognize the uncertainty this will cause," she said. "Our customers trust us with their personal information and we take that responsibility seriously."

Hudson said Qantas had reported the incident to Australia's National Cyber Security Coordinator.

This is not the first time Qantas has faced data security issues in recent years.

The airline also apologized in 2024 after a glitch with its mobile app exposed some passengers' names and travel details. 

Edited by: Sean Sinico