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International Business Times
International Business Times
Bruce Golding

Rogue Workers Try To Loot Frequent Flyer Miles From Qantas Customers

A Qantas passenger plane takes off from Sydney International Airport in Australia on Aug. 28, 2024. (Credit: SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Two airport workers were reportedly caught trying to steal frequent flyer miles from Qantas Airways customers.

The suspects, who worked for a contractor hired by Qantas in India, allegedly altered computerized flight records to transfer passengers' points from about 800 customers to an account they controlled, the Guardian reported.

The workers were suspended after the scam was uncovered and the matter was referred to Indian law enforcement authorities, 9 News reported.

The incident came to light after a passenger complained to the Australian Business Review that their account had been hacked and the airline wouldn't help them out.

A spokesperson for the troubled Australian air carrier apologized for the breach and said the "fraudulent activity" had been addressed by the company.

"Customers have received the full amount of points and status credits they were entitled to for their travel," the spokesperson said.

Qantas also said other carriers were affected and that it had "worked closely with our airline partners to secure their systems to prevent this issue from happening again."

The revelations followed the May settlement of a lawsuit in which Qantas agreed to pay $82 million in fines and compensation for selling tens of thousands of tickets for flights it had already canceled.

The "ghost flights" scandal helped prompt last year's resignation of CEO Alan Joyce and a court filing made public last month showed that unidentified senior managers were aware of the impact on customers although no one grasped the enormity of the situation, Bloomberg reported.

Qantas stock closed Monday at $7.05 a share, up 0.7%.

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