Computer Glitch Fixed at LAX

(AP)  A computer failure that left thousands of travelers trapped on planes and stuck for hours in the terminal at Los Angeles International Airport was fixed, and flights were back to normal Monday.

International flights were arriving on time and travelers coming to the U.S. were making it smoothly through the airport's checkpoints, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mike Fleming.

The computer malfunction, which began at 2 p.m. Saturday and lasted nearly 10 hours, prevented authorities from screening passengers arriving in the U.S. It delayed more than 17,000 people arriving from overseas.

Fleming said a computer switch failed, which knocked down the entire communications system. A backup system was in place, but it was accessible only to customs officers in some of the lanes where passengers were being processed, creating huge bottlenecks.

"We've had outages in the past, but they haven't taken nearly as long to resolve," Fleming said. "This was unprecedented in terms of impact."

During the outage, passengers were kept on planes after the terminals that normally accept international travelers became full because the previous arrivals couldn't be processed.

Though the entire system was up and running by 11:45 p.m. Saturday, it took officials until around 4 a.m. Sunday to finish processing the backlog of incoming passengers, Fleming said.

[jdubs63]

I am NOT COMPLACENT NOR CODDLED where is that coming from? Yes OUR security comes first so be it. You must not be from here.

[erasmus6]

Let's face it, you are never going to be able to protect yourselves from terrorists. There are so many ways they can get you that it is just a matter of time.

I mean look at China, who knows how long they have been contaminating the food and now they are selling guns to the Iranians to be used against your military. And the only reason that anyone has started paying attention to the human food is because of the tainted animal food. It took cats and dogs to start dying before anyone took notice.

People are expecting some big thing to happen when maybe it will be something less noticable like a gradual poisoning or something.

[barbaraf4]

"This sort of thing will continue to occur until consumers start to sue the airlines (yes, the airlines) for false imprisonment and for the pain and suffering that result. The government may ultimately be at fault, but it's the airlines that keep the passengers imprisoned on their airplanes and that choose to do business in this environment. And so the airlines should be held liable." Posted by sparkyguy
~~~
I agree 100%. This whole Homeland Security is smoke and mirrors. With the delays and general annoyance of air travel today, they will never be able to stop a person who really wants to do harm (and we had those people before 9/11, so this is nothing new). All this nonsense about 4 ounces of gel products and having to buy your bottled water at the airport instead of bringing a cheaper bottle from home will never guarantee our safety. Why? Because life is full of risks, and no one can guarantee your safety. Also, if you know how to do it, your thumb is a lethal weapon. So what is this taking off your shoes garbage?

[jankebenz]

this major "glitch" is just a small fraction of the total inconveniences and headaches Americans and others have suffered and will suffer as a result of al queda and terrorism. we are being held hostage in our own country and have lost many freedoms because of their fanatical idealism and political agendas. Just as bad to see so many posters on these sites placeing the blame on U.S. policies and poh-poohing the proven threat of jihad and other radicals. These type are IMPOSTERS and are a fermenting cancer to resolution and peace

[hermit22]

would this generation ever be able to survive in the covered wagon days?

[l8c6]

Yeah, it's the government's fault...hmm, who is the government anyway? Di*ck Cheney is the Vice President of the federal government but he hates the government that would address these issues...hmmmm, anyone ever ask what's wrong with this picture?

Lets get Haliburton...maybe they know who's in control.

[tucano2]

The "glitch" has the fingerprints of Al-Queda all over it. A "dry Run", perhaps.

[roach9703]

Maybe the programming behind the computers is getting TOO complex.

[erasmus6]

Yup, this is the kind of thing that happens when you are totally dependant on computers.

But what would all you whiners do if they went ahead and let everyone get on the plane without being able to check for information on those computers and let the WRONG person on the plane. You'd really be whining then.

What do you think is going to happen, one day, when the plane you are flying in or the train that you are on, has a computer glitch? It would be "bye,bye" time.

[cmp271]

Too bad! GET OVER IT, THE SAFETY OF OUR COUTRY COMES FIRST.

AMERICANS ARE TOO COMPLACENT AND CODDLED!!

That is the risk when you fly. I don't feel sorry for any of those people.

Wait until a few more years when the sun issues start to interfere with the electronic devices we depend on world wide.
)O(