Southwest Airlines Computer Problem Grounds Flights, Forces Cancellations
By Tim Jimenez
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Southwest Airlines was getting back on track Saturday morning after a computer-glitch grounded 250 flights Friday night, leading to nearly 60 cancellations.
Officials for the airline found a system-wide computer glitch at around 11 p.m. It caused problems for passengers checking-in, printing boarding passes and even crew members monitoring the weights of the airplanes.
Flights in the air were not affected, but officials say 250 flights were grounded, mostly on the West Coast, and 43 of them had to be cancelled.
The problems rolled over into Saturday morning. A spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines said 14 flights had to be canceled because of the glitch, some flight crews she said, couldn't get to the airport in time for takeoff.
Philadelphia International Airport was not affected, but officials for Southwest Airlines were urging passengers to check their flight status before leaving by calling 1-800-PHL-GATE or going to PHL.org.
