Rio airport screens show porn movies in apparent hack

Members of Beija Flor samba school perform during the last night of Rio's Carnival parade at the Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the early hours of February 25, 2020.
AFP/Mauro Pimentel

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — With its thong-covered beaches, flesh-flaunting carnival and sultry nightlife, Rio de Janeiro has a racy reputation, but it rose to a new level Friday when porn films started playing on screens at the Brazilian city's central airport.

News of the apparent hack first broke on social media, when shocked and bemused travelers posted images of screens inside Santos Dumont Airport playing explicit videos that were decidedly not safe for work — or travel.

"It seems a lot of people missed their flights today," cracked one Twitter user.

"Welcome to Santos Dumont Airporn," wrote another.

Brazil's airport operator, Infraero, said the monitors were advertising screens run by a private company, not official information displays.

"Infraero has taken appropriate legal action and filed a case with the federal police," it said in a statement. "The monitors in question will remain turned off in our airport network until the company responsible for them guarantees their security."

Not everyone was laughing over the incident.

"Imagine people traveling with children," one social media user wrote. "What a lack of respect."

Others were more amused.

"I love Rio," wrote one.

RELATED: 'So much joy': Brazil holds first carnival since Covid

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