During Delta Air Lines Flight 591, an unauthorized Wi-Fi network appeared onboard, and a Wi-Fi deauthentication attack was conducted, reportedly by passengers returning from DEF CON 34. The attack involved sending forged deauthentication frames to disconnect clients from the legitimate in-flight Wi-Fi access point, causing denial of service. Concurrently, a rogue Wi-Fi network named "Delta WiFi Fast" was broadcast, presenting a phishing page to collect sensitive credentials. The aircraft crew responded by disabling Wi-Fi for approximately 30 minutes. Federal authorities boarded the aircraft post-landing to investigate and confiscate equipment. Delta stated the incident did not affect flight safety or aircraft systems and is under thorough investigation with federal and aviation partners.

The attack caused a denial-of-service condition on the aircraft's Wi-Fi network, disrupting connectivity for passengers. Additionally, the rogue Wi-Fi network attempted to phish personal and Google login credentials from passengers. There was no reported impact on the safety of passengers or aircraft operational systems. The incident required disabling Wi-Fi temporarily and prompted a law enforcement investigation. The phishing attempt could have led to credential compromise if passengers connected to the rogue network and submitted their information.

Delta Air Lines disabled the aircraft's Wi-Fi functionality temporarily to stop the attack. The company is cooperating with federal law enforcement and aviation regulators to investigate the incident. Networks can mitigate Wi-Fi deauthentication attacks by implementing Protected Management Frames (PMF), though it is unclear if this was in place. Passengers should avoid connecting to unauthorized or suspicious Wi-Fi networks and be cautious of phishing pages requesting credentials. No official patch or fix applies as this is an operational security incident rather than a software vulnerability.