Thousands stranded by airport computer breakdown
About 6,000 international passengers were stranded for as long as six hours at Los Angeles International Airport today when a computer failure prevented them from passing through customs.
The passengers were stranded in four airport terminals and in 24 planes starting at about 1.30pm (9.30pm Irish Time) yesterday because of a breakdown in the computer system.
The system contained the names of arriving passengers and law enforcement data about them, including arrest warrants, said Los Angeles World Airports spokesman Paul Haney.
“That system allows our officers to make decisions on who we can allow to enter the US,” said Mike Fleming, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman. “You just don’t know by looking at them.”
The cause of the shutdown was not known, and there was no estimate on when the system would be repaired, Fleming said.
Authorities had begun using a back-up system by 7.45pm and were processing passengers in order of their arrival.
But the system could only support half of the inspection booths normally used by customs officers, Fleming said.
Customs officials were working to divert incoming flights to airports in Ontario, California, and Las Vegas, Fleming said.
Terminals that normally accept international passengers have been full since at least 2.30pm (10.30pm Irish Time), and passengers arriving since then have had to remain on the runway.
“This is just unbearable,” said Gaynelle Jones, 57, who landed on a 13-hour flight from Hong Kong at about 2.15pm and was still sitting on her plane five hours later. She said she had missed her connecting flight to Houston.
“We’ve already been on a plane for several hours, and they have no timeframe for when we’ll be able to get off,” Jones said on her mobile phone.
