Customs outage causes long lines at airports

Travelers faced long lines Monday evening as a nationwide computer shutdown of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) systems caused major delays at airports across the country.

The temporary outage created lengthy waits and and other headaches for travelers in Chicago, New York City, Boston, Baltimore, Atlanta and Miami, as people returned home from the New Year’s holiday weekend. The agency said in a statement that there’s no evidence the outage was “malicious in nature.”

{mosads}The outage lasted for approximately four hours, with systems at all airports currently back online, according to the agency. Travelers at some airports had to be processed by hand at international terminals during the outage.

“CBP took immediate action to address the issue and CBP officers continued to process international travelers using alternative procedures at airports experiencing the disruption,” the agency said in a statement. “Travelers at some ports of entry experienced longer than usual wait times as CBP officers processed travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security.”