Airline disables credit card readers

WestJet, one of 13 airlines that use automated kiosks at Pearson Airport has announced it will disable credit card readers on its machines across the country as a precaution.
"We have done it to ensure that there is no possibility of something happening to a passenger's personal information," said an airline spokesperson.
Officials with the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) said the investigation began when they were approached by Visa, after the credit card company noticed "isolated" and "increased" instances of credit card fraud taking place at the airport, focused around the kiosks.
"Visa approached GTAA to say that they would like to take a look at how credit cards are used by people to identify themselves at our self-serve kiosks," said Scott Armstrong, a spokesperson for the GTAA.
In the past few years, traditional check-in has increasingly been replaced with 150 automated kiosks, which allow passengers to use passports, reservation numbers, frequent flyer cards, names and credit card numbers to get boarding passes and access to flights.
"In this case ... the cards were being used just for identification," said Armstrong. It was unclear if private information had been stolen or accessed.
In the meantime, Armstrong said, passengers still have several options at the kiosks, such as using their passports or simply typing in their names.
jstewart@mississauga.net