System shutdown impacts US customs at airports nationwide

Air travelers across the country were struck with delays Friday due to a computer issue that prevented customs officials from processing new arrivals.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said it is taking “immediate action” to rectify the issue and is working to process travelers as quickly as possible.{mosads}

“CBP is experiencing a temporary outage with its processing systems at various air ports of entry & is taking immediate action to address the technology disruption. CBP officers continue to process international travelers using alternative procedures until systems are back online,” the agency tweeted.

CBP officers are working to process travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security.

— CBP (@CBP) August 16, 2019

One traveler tweeted a video showing an area in Dulles International Airport packed with those waiting to be processed.

Nationwide outage of US CBP computer systems. Easily 5,000+ passengers in line at Dulles. pic.twitter.com/JGJD95sfFx

— Rebekah Tromble (@RebekahKTromble) August 16, 2019

Newark Liberty Airport and Los Angeles International Airport both said they were affected by the CBP nationwide network outage and are manually processing passengers.

#EWR A CBP nationwide network outage issue is impacting Terminals B and C. Passengers are being processed manually. Possible delays may be experienced. [55]

— Newark Liberty Airport (@EWRairport) August 16, 2019

.@CBP systems are experiencing an issue which appears to be impacting multiple airports including LAX. Officers are processing passengers manually so please check with your airline for the latest status of any flight impacts. More details as they become available.

— LAX Airport (@flyLAXairport) August 16, 2019

CBP later said the affected systems were coming back online and that no malicious behavior was suspected.

“The affected systems are coming back online and travelers are being processed. CBP will continue to monitor the incident. There is no indication the disruption was malicious in nature at this time,” the agency tweeted around 6:40 p.m.

The affected systems are coming back online and travelers are being processed. CBP will continue to monitor the incident. There is no indication the disruption was malicious in nature at this time.

— CBP (@CBP) August 16, 2019

Updated 7:15 p.m.