US Customs and Border Protection computer outage snarls US airport arrivals

Thousands of travelers faced delays at airports around the country on Friday after a computer outage prevented U.S. immigration officials from processing arriving passengers during a busy summer travel day.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the problem at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but the agency said it was investigating. There was no indication that the system was intentionally derailed, according to a CPB official.

CBP officers were using “alternative procedures” to process travelers arriving from abroad, the agency said.

Some travelers posted images on social media of long lines at checkpoints at airports in Washington, D.C., and Houston.

One traveler tweeted that passengers on her flight from London weren’t allowed to deplane upon arrival in Boston because of the issue.

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