Unapproved pro-Palestinian messages were illicitly transmitted over public address systems at four airports across North America on Tuesday, causing disruptions and triggering security probes. The incidents unfolded at Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania, Kelowna International Airport, Victoria International Airport in British Columbia, Canada, and Windsor International Airport in Ontario.
Videos shared by travelers displayed recordings praising Hamas and criticizing President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At Harrisburg International Airport, an airport representative verified that an unauthorized individual accessed the airport Public Address (PA) system and played a pre-recorded message.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy condemned the incidents as completely unacceptable, acknowledging the anxiety caused to travelers and stating that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is collaborating with Harrisburg airport to investigate this breach.
Kelowna International Airport encountered similar breaches, with unauthorized access to both flight information displays and the PA system. Passengers faced confusion as staff resorted to using megaphones due to the intercom being offline. Messages, including chants advocating “Free Palestine,” echoed throughout the terminal. Kelowna officials confirmed the removal of unauthorized messages and ongoing system restoration.
Victoria International Airport attributed the unauthorized audio message to a cloud-based software glitch and issued an apology for the inconvenience caused.
Windsor International Airport confirmed the swift removal of unauthorized images and cessation of the recorded PA announcement, with operations returning to normalcy.
Transport Canada declared close collaboration with federal security agencies to ensure safety and prevent similar incidents, noting that no group has claimed responsibility for the coordinated breaches yet.