Customs Computer Glitch Caused Delays At Logan Airport
BOSTON (CBS) -- A computer system that monitors travelers' names against the federal terror watch list that was down Wednesday night at Logan Airport and other airports has been restored, according to sources.
The problem occurred around 8:30 p.m. and was resolved about an hour and a half later.
A US Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told WBZ-TV they "experienced a temporary outage with its processing systems at airports of entry in the United States and took immediate action to address the technology disruption. In the meantime, CBP officers processed international travelers using alternative procedures until systems were back on line. The outage lasted about 90 minutes. At this time, there is no indication the service disruption was malicious in nature."
A Department of Homeland Security official told CBS News a router went offline which led to a "manual process of vetting against the (secure flight) watch list."
Mike McCarthy of the TSA told WBZ-TV he is aware that there was a computer glitch, and the system was for security screening but at no point was security ever compromised. He is investigating and working to determine what caused the malfunction.
Travelers arriving at Logan had to wait 60-to-90 minutes at customs until the problem was resolved, according to WBZ-TV's Kate Merrill. Airport staff had to manually process travelers, which is a tedious process, a law enforcement source told CBS News.
