[IP] Computer glitch holds up 20,000 at LAX [RISKS] Risks Digest 24.79

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:


Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2007 06:37:52 -0700
From: Paul Saffo <paul@saffo.com>
Subject: Computer glitch holds up 20,000 at LAX

More than 20,000 international passengers were stranded for hours at Los
Angeles International Airport on Saturday, 11 Aug 2007, waiting on  
airplanes
and in packed customs halls while the malfunctioning of a computer  
system
that determined who would be subject to secondary searches prevented
officials from processing travelers entering the U.S.  The system was  
down
from 2pm until just after midnight, and the final passengers were not
cleared until 3:50am -- except for six more requiring human  
intervention.
As of 3am, some parking lots were still gridlocked.

"This is probably one of the worst days we've had.  I've been with the
agency for 30 years and I've never seen the system go down and stay  
down for
as long as it did," said Peter Gordon, acting port director for customs.
[Source: Computer glitch holds up 20,000 at LAX; Passengers are  
delayed for
hours on planes and in terminals after a customs processing system goes
down.  Karen Kaplan, Rong-Gong Lin II and Ari B. Bloomekatz, *Los  
Angeles
Times*, 12 Aug 2007; PGN-ed]
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lax12aug12,0,5727961.story? 
coll=la-home-center

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