[Infowarrior] - Customs Computer Glitch Causes Delays at LAX

[Richard Forno]

Computer Glitch Causes Delays at LAX
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Aug 12, 8:18 AM (ET)

By AMANDA BECK

 http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070812/D8QVFM1G0.html

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Weary international passengers were stuck at Los Angeles
International Airport for several hours, unable to set foot in the United
States after a computer failure prevented customs officials from screening
arrivals.

Over 20,000 international passengers, both Americans and foreigners, sat in
four airport terminals and in 60 planes starting about 2 p.m. on Saturday,
when the computer system broke down, said Los Angeles World Airports
spokesman Paul Haney.

A major switch in the system, which contains names of arriving passengers
and law enforcement data about them, including arrest warrants, had failed
and had to be replaced, said Mike Fleming, a U.S. Customs and Border
Protection spokesman.

"That system allows our officers to make decisions on who we can allow to
enter the United States," Fleming said. "You just don't know by looking at
them."

The computers were fully restored at 11:45 p.m., and the last of backlogged
passengers were processed by early Sunday, Fleming said.

"This is probably one of the worst days we've had. I've been with the agency
for 30 years and I've never seen the system go down and stay down for as
long as it did," Peter Gordon, acting port director for customs, told The
Los Angeles Times.

Officials diverted seven incoming flights to an Ontario airport and advised
international passengers departing Sunday to check the status of their
flights before leaving for the airport.

Terminals that normally accept international passengers were full by 2:30
p.m. Saturday, and passengers arriving afterward had to remain on the runway
until their was room inside the terminal buildings.

Three people were transported to local hospitals after they fell ill from
waiting in the terminals, according to the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

(AP) Departing travelers wait in line for security screening at Los Angeles
International Airport after...
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"This is just unbearable," said Gaynelle Jones, 57, who landed on a 13-hour
flight from Hong Kong at about 2:15 p.m. 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 during a cell phone
interview.

Airport officials said the stranded planes were connected to ground power
and passengers had access to food, water and bathrooms.

"People are getting a little stir-crazy, feeling claustrophobic," said Chris
Cognac, 39, who was returning with family and friends - including 10
children - from a week in Puerto Vallarta. The group had been sitting on the
tarmac for five hours when he spoke by phone.

Passengers on his plane were in the aisles, holding their carry-on luggage,
and ready to disembark when the flight crew asked them to return to their
seats, Cognac said.

"Everybody's pretty angry with customs at the moment because they're not
informing any one of anything," Cognac said. "It's becoming a logistical
issue with diapers."