Computer Outage by Customs Delays Boston Passengers Returning From Flights

Airport delays were reported Monday in Boston, South Florida and Atlanta

Passengers returning from international flights at Boston's Logan Airport had to deal with long lines and delays on Monday due to a nationwide computer outage by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The delay was also reported at airports in South Florida and Atlanta.

One family who was returning to Boston from a vacation in London said they spent about two hours at customs.

"It looked like the machines were broken, the green cards weren’t working, it was a mess in there," said David Nowell of Grafton, Massachusetts. "It took forever. Hour and a half maybe to get through the whole thing. I’m ready to go home."

After enjoying a long trip to Turkey, the Crawley family had to endure the long lines to get through customs and back home to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"It took about 3 hours to get from the plane landing to get to here," said Peter Crawley.

Passengers said because of the outage, customs was processing people by hand.

"Normally you can get through in 30 minutes. This was like two hours," Nowell said.

Some passengers said they didn't just wait in one long line, they waited in several.

"We had to wait in another line to get into another line to get into another line to get through, so it was long," said Samantha Flynn from Enfield Connecticut.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman released a statement regarding the disruption:

"U.S. Customs and Border Protection is experiencing a temporary outage with its processing systems at various air ports of entry and taking immediate action to address the technology disruption. CBP officers continue to process international travelers using alternative procedures until systems are back online. Travelers at some ports of entry are experiencing longer than usual wait times and CBP officers are working to process travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security."

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