U.K. Agency Launches Probe Into Leak of Celebrities' Flight Details

The British privacy protection agency has launched a probe into a case that saw an employee of airline Virgin Atlantic leak flight details for about 70 celebrities to London-based photo agency Big Pictures, the Guardianreported.

The celebrities affected include Daniel Radcliffe, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sienna Miller, Russell Brand, Rihannaand Madonna's children, according to the report.

Virgin Atlantic called in the Information Commissioner's Office, the U.K.'s data protection watchdog, after it confirmed that private travel details had been shared by the staffer.

The airline said in a statement that there were no signs that other staff had also been involved. "We voluntarily contacted the Information Commissioner's Office and have fully assisted with their inquiries," it said. "We continue to treat the security of customer information extremely seriously and apologize to the passengers affected."

The Virgin Atlantic employee responsible for the privacy breaches resigned.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com
Twitter: @georgszalai