UPDATED 7:30 p.m. PT
A computer glitch that caused 90-minute delays at customs terminals in airports nationwide Wednesday has been fixed, according to the U.S. Customs & Border Protection Agency. As of now, officials do not believe the technical malfunction was caused by a malicious hack.
Dozens of angry travelers took to Twitter to report long delays in customs lines and vent about the little information they received from employees on the ground.
Nationwide customs glitch is over, CBP tells me. As of now they do not believe it was 'malicious in nature.' pic.twitter.com/ZDDlYBHjcm— Olivia Niland (@OliviaNiland) October 15, 2015
The technical issues affected U.S. Customs & Border Protection Agency computers at John F. Kennedy International in New York, Boston Logan International, Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta, Dallas Fort-Worth International, Los Angeles International and several other airports.
Travelers tweeted they were at risk of missing their flights due to the mishap.
#Jfk customs computer system down. They don't know when it'll be fixed. Typical. #welcometousa @cnn @nytimes pic.twitter.com/LxK5f0lOyx
— B Lee (@mixiebug) October 14, 2015
@CustomsBorder -- maybe you can give us an update on when your computers will be working at BWI? Or go into contingency. It's been 45 mins.
— Anthony Quartieri (@aquartieri) October 14, 2015
One traveler, who asked not to be named, told Mashable that there was only one functioning computer when he arrived at JFK, where at least 1,000 people were waiting in line. Even with global entry, it took him and a handful of others an hour to get through customs. Although people were upset about the delays and lack of information, the mood was surprisingly calm, he said.
@ATLairport FIX CUSTOMS/IMMIGRATION computer system! We R in danger of missing connections. #nationwide prob really? pic.twitter.com/rWikHcNkNq
— Susan (@Megasuthorn) October 14, 2015
Boston Logan Customs earning its sour reputation: 6 flights here and all computers are down. Where's your Plan B??!!
— Kenneth Colburn (@kacolburn) October 14, 2015
@WCVB at Logan Customs not moving they claim Nationwide computer failure
— Alan S Pransky (@PranskyA) October 14, 2015
Stranded in customs at @BostonLogan airport, passengers told US @CustomsBorder computer system is down nationwide #what
— Kiki Croll (@stopdropNcroll) October 14, 2015
Charlotte airport, every passport/customs Kiosk is down. Somehow, I made my connecting flight!— Patrice J. Williams (@PatriceJWill) Oct 14 2015
A computer outage was also reported at the Emirates check-in counter at JFK. It was not immediately clear whether the two incidents were related.
Challenges in a digital world... @emirates check in system crashed at JFK airport NYC. pic.twitter.com/YPWRLgSwKM
— Munesh Makhija (@muneshm) October 14, 2015