Posted on 08/11/2007 10:08:40 PM PDT by BenLurkin
CBS) LOS ANGELES About 6,000 international passengers were stranded for as long as five hours Saturday on planes and in terminals at Los Angeles International Airport because a computer shutdown prevented them from passing through customs, authorities said.
The computer went down at about 2 p.m., according to a statement from Los Angeles World Airports, which operates Los Angeles International Airport.
"At 9 p.m., federal officials were holding approximately 6,000 passengers on about two dozen international arriving aircraft until they can be cleared through the five Federal Inspection Stations at LAX," according to the statement.
The passengers were stranded in four airport terminals and on runways starting at about 1:30 p.m. because of a breakdown in a computer system that contains names of arriving passengers and law enforcement data about them including arrest warrants, said Mike Fleming, a 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."
Authorities had begun using a backup system by 7:45 p.m. and were processing passengers in order of their arrival.
However, the system could only support half of the inspection booths normally used by customs officers, Fleming said.
Airport officials said all aircraft are parked at locations where they are connected to ground power, and passengers have access to food, water and toilet services.
According to unconfirmed reports from the airport, some passengers became ill, and other terminals were affected as they were used to house international passengers until they could be processed. Vehicle traffic also backed up.
LAWA issued another statement at 9:15 p.m. saying customs officials had resumed processing arriving passengers and the computers were online again.
"It was not immediately known how long it will take to clear the backlog of arriving international passengers," according to the LAWA statement.
Customs officials were working to divert incoming flights to airports in Ontario, Calif., and San Francisco.
Terminals that normally accept international passengers have been full since at least 2:30 p.m., 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 2:15 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 told The Associated Press from her cell phone.
Travelers are advised to check the status of their outbound flights before arriving at LAX.
Yeah, these poor suckers get trapped at LAX, but the borders are wide open.
In this case...the customs folks are responsible for delays and ought to pay up just like the airlines would. To have some type of server outage...and not have a mirror server up and running to avoid cases like this...is totally wrong.
For the first time in my life...this summer...I had to travel through JFK. I just stood there in shock at the delays in customs and entry. I’ve gone through all of the major airports from Chicago to Atlanta...and never seen a mess like that. I’m guessing JFK and LAX are both of the same variety and should be avoided.
Hey I just got out of the shower...anything interesting?
It’s all over...
Nothing to see here...
Bookstores at airports sounds like a good idea.
ML/NJ
Exactly !! It is unbelievable that with a system this important they do not have a mirror server running. Who are they employing as System Administrators ?
They were outsourced years ago
and who says the Feds waste money on something as silly as redundant systems.....its not like some pol could line his pockets with it.
Some cheap outsourced resources over in Hyderabad.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.