U.S. Customs IT Outage Snarls Airports Around the Country

A technology outage Friday afternoon delayed travelers throughout the U.S. The agency said it was working to fix the "temporary" technological setback, but gave no details on what the cause might be.

August 16, 2019 •

Travelers across the country were faced with lengthy airport lines and delays due to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) computer outage Friday afternoon.

Officials gave no reason for the “temporary” processing system outage, which was acknowledged by the agency around 2 P.M. PST, but said immediate action was being taken to bring systems back online.

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

CBP officers are working to process travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security. — CBP (@CBP) August 16, 2019

The agency said officers would be “using alternative procedures” to process international travelers.

Officials at Los Angeles International and JFK also acknowledged the ongoing situation, warning passengers about manual processing procedures.

.@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

One affected passenger waiting at Virginia's Dulles International Airport tweeted this video of the delay.

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

Eyragon Eidam

Eyragon Eidam is the web editor for Government Technology magazine, after previously serving as assistant news editor and covering such topics as legislation, social media and public safety. He can be reached at eeidam@erepublic.com.

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U.S. Customs IT Outage Snarls Airports Around the Country

A technology outage Friday afternoon delayed travelers throughout the U.S. The agency said it was working to fix the "temporary" technological setback, but gave no details on what the cause might be.