US Airways System Snafu Delays Thousands

(AP)  Thousands of US Airways passengers suffered through long delays Sunday at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and other U.S. airports when a computer glitch prevented them from checking in using self-service kiosks.

Some passengers said they had not been able to speak to a ticket agent after waiting more than two hours.

The airline, which has its largest hub in Charlotte, began encouraging people to go home around 10:30 a.m., saying it was unlikely it could rebook passengers for later flights.

Passengers complained that people were cutting in line, adding to the problem.

"I don't even know where the end of the line is," said David Culp of Florence, S.C., who was trying to get to San Diego. "No one is telling us anything."

The airline blamed the crash on a switch it made early Sunday to a single reservations system used by merger partner America West.

All the self-service kiosks in the old US Airways network were down on most of the East Coast. The US Airways Web site said lines were long at airports in Charlotte, Philadelphia and Boston.

"We are aware of some folks missing their flights because the lines are long. No flights are being delayed or canceled," said Phil Gee, spokesman for the Tempe, Ariz.-based airline. "We are waiving the rebooking fee."

Passengers were encouraged to make reservations on later flights as ticket agents tried to cover duties normally handled by the kiosks.

"We have every IT person working on it," said Gee. He added that some kiosks began coming back online around midday in Charlotte.