US customs computer outage causes airport delays
January 3, 2017
The computer system used by US customs officials at airports nationwide has crashed, according to a statement from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Monday evening.
It said customs officers at several airports were attempting to process international passengers using "alternative procedures" until the system came back online.
News agencies said thousands of passengers arriving from international destinations were facing long delays at customs gates.
An official from Miami International Airport told broadcaster NBC that passengers on "more than 30 international flights were affected."
Los Angeles International Airport said on its Twitter feed that it was also experiencing problems.
Within a few minutes of the disruption, passengers took to social media in anger. Several people posted photos of long lines.
"People are starting to argue and get frustrated," Cali Rez tweeted in Miami. "Get someone down here to explain things and direct the lines ASAP."
Another passenger, Melinda Henrickson, described "ridiculous" queues and "mass confusion."
Radio show host Kristin Klingshirn, who flew into Atlanta, tweeted that she'd been told her plane was 20th in line for a gate.
CBP officials were working to establish the cause of the outage, officials said.
Other affected airports included Los Angeles, Atlanta Hartsfield, Boston Logan and Fort Lauderdale, officials said.
Fort Lauderdale International Airport tweeted a few hours later that the system was being slowly restored but there were still delays.
mm/cmk (AP, AFP)