Long lines at US airports as customs system crashes across the nation, CBP says
U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed on Friday that the agency is “experiencing a temporary outage with its processing systems at various” airports around the country, disrupting processing for international travelers.
“CBP officers continue to process international travelers using alternative procedures until systems are back online,” the agency said in a statement posted on Twitter, adding that officials are working as “quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security.”
Long lines were reported at airports around the country, including Dulles International Airport in Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., according to Patch. Headaches with customs were also reported at Los Angeles International Airport in California and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, according to CNN, as well as Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, PIX 11 reported.
Sea-Tac Airport, which serves Washington state’s Puget Sound area, said in a Twitter post that the issue is a nationwide problem with the Federal Inspection Services (FIS) processing system, adding that “CBP is processing passengers manually until the system is back online, which we hope to be soon.”
Travelers took to social media to share scenes from the airport — with at least one using the hashtag “customsapocalypse.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2019 at 5:45 PM.
