Thousands of travelers at US airports faced delays late on Friday because of an outage of US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) processing systems, officials said.
The outage has already caused major problems at international airports in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere.
CBP said in a statement the outage was temporary and “officers continue to process international travelers using alternative procedures until systems are back online. Travelers at some ports of entry are experiencing longer than usual wait times.”
People at various US airports posted videos on social media sites of lengthy lines at processing checkpoints and several airports warned of extensive delays.
Women in Tech
(@WomenInTechOrg)#womenintech just arrived in the #USA for networking events and we’re all blocked at #customs pic.twitter.com/HGMvwUJqX3
(@RebekahKTromble)Nationwide outage of US CBP computer systems. Easily 5,000+ passengers in line at Dulles. pic.twitter.com/JGJD95sfFx
JFK airport in New York tweeted: “Customs is experiencing a system shutdown nationwide. They are processing passengers manually until the system comes back online.”
Kennedy Airport
(@JFKairport)Just to let you know Customs is experiencing a system shutdown nationwide. They are processing passengers manually until the system comes back online. Thanks for your patience. *NV
LAX in Los Angeles advised customers to check directly with their airlines about how the delays were affecting flights.
LAX Airport
(@flyLAXairport)An update from @CBP on the issue impacting passenger processing in customs areas. Please continue to check with your airline directly for the latest on any potential flight impacts. https://t.co/pCqY6M1lE1
