US Customs and Border Protection systems down, airports affected nationwide
Hundreds of passengers were stranded for hours at Los Angeles, New York and Washington international airports, as US Customs and Border Protection systems were plagued by 'technical ‘issues.’
Around two hours after the technical issues were first reported, the CBP said that the crippled systems were “coming back online.” The agency added that there was “no indication the disruption was malicious in nature at the time.”
The affected systems are coming back online and travelers are being processed. CBP will continue to monitor the incident. There is no indication the disruption was malicious in nature at this time.
— CBP (@CBP) August 16, 2019
The cause of the shutdown is yet unknown, with the agency saying they were working to identify the problem. Photos on social media showed huge lines of passengers at the airports waiting to be processed. John F. Kennedy Airport in New York said it was starting to use backup computer systems, adding that people were still being processed, “but slower.”
Here’s a better perspective of the customs line at JFK. People are growing frustrated. Nothing like landing after a 10 hour flight to this. pic.twitter.com/WrEUsoJhbH
— Sarah Baird 🙌 (@Baird_S) August 16, 2019
JFK Airport Customs. Great work #TSA#JFKpic.twitter.com/5sp1TAtCst
— Bradley Pierce (@BradPierce7) August 16, 2019
Nationwide outage of US CBP computer systems. Easily 5,000+ passengers in line at Dulles. pic.twitter.com/JGJD95sfFx
— Rebekah Tromble (@RebekahKTromble) August 16, 2019
Passengers reported spending more than two hours standing in line at Washington Dulles International Airport.
.@CBP systems are experiencing an issue which appears to be impacting multiple airports including LAX. Officers are processing passengers manually so please check with your airline for the latest status of any flight impacts. More details as they become available.
— LAX Airport (@flyLAXairport) August 16, 2019
The CBP has confirmed that its processing systems suffered a “temporary outage at various ports of entry,” and said that it had taken “immediate action” to deal with the glitch.
“CBP officers continue to process international travelers using alternative procedures until systems are back online,” the agency reported on Twitter.
CBP is experiencing a temporary outage with its processing systems at various air ports of entry & is taking immediate action to address the technology disruption. CBP officers continue to process international travelers using alternative procedures until systems are back online.
— CBP (@CBP) August 16, 2019
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which also experienced a failure of its processing systems, reported that the CBP hardware is back online.
“CBP systems are back online and the backlog of passengers are being processed,” the airport reported on Twitter.
UPDATE: CBP systems are back online and the backlog of passengers are being processed. We are so sorry for the delay. The teams at CBP and SEA are working hard to get you on your way as quickly as possible. Look for our ambassadors on the ground if you have questions.
— Sea-Tac Airport (@SeaTacAirport) August 16, 2019
Meanwhile, TMZ reported, citing a CBP source, that the agency has not detected any foul play.
"There is no indication of nefarious activity at this time," the source said.
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