US Customs and Border Patrol Systems Fail Across Airports Nationwide

A system outage at U.S. Customs and Border Patrol brought airports into chaos across the country [...]

By Jose Bastidas

A system outage at U.S. Customs and Border Patrol brought airports into chaos across the country Friday. The system, which the organization uses to check incoming travelers' passports, malfunctioned leading to massive slowdowns as officials relied on slower backup systems.

Travelers at airports including New York's JFK and Washington-Dulles, reported widespread delays in international arrivals halls, Business Insider reported.

"At Dulles, just announced that the US Customs system is down nationwide," one traveler at Washington Dulles tweeted.

"Wow [JFK Airport] customs systems are down," another traveler tweeted. "Glad I have Global Entry but don't think it's gonna help."

"Just to let you know Customs is experiencing a system shutdown nationwide," JFK Airport's official account tweeted. "They are processing passengers manually until the system comes back online. Thanks for your patience."

Customs officials reportedly told TMZ they are not sure what the problem is at this time. It was also not immediately clear how long the outage is expected to last. With more planes landing at the big airports, the lines are just getting bigger.

An official at LAX told the outlet, "Officers are processing passengers manually so please check with your airline for the latest status of any flight impacts."

Some travelers said the immigration process could take eight hours.

Officials have not commented on the possible cause of the outage, as those affected continue to share photos and videos from the growing lines.

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