Passengers stuck in planes after computer fails

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Weary international passengers were stuck at Los Angeles International Airport for several hours, after a computer failure prevented customs officials from screening arrivals.

Salvador Geurrero waits for his wife to exit customs at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday.

More than 20,000 international passengers, both Americans and foreigners, sat in four airport terminals and in 60 planes starting about 2 p.m. on Saturday, when the computer system broke down, said Los Angeles World Airports spokesman Paul Haney.

A major switch in the system, which contains names of arriving passengers and law enforcement data about them, including arrest warrants, had failed and had to be replaced, said Mike Fleming, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

"That system allows our officers to make decisions on who we can allow to enter the United States," Fleming said. "You just don't know by looking at them."

The computers were fully restored at 11:45 p.m., and the last of backlogged passengers were processed by early Sunday, Fleming said.

"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," Peter Gordon, acting port director for customs, told The Los Angeles Times.

Officials diverted seven incoming flights to an Ontario airport and advised international passengers departing Sunday to check the status of their flights before leaving for the airport.