Substantial delays following Southwest Airlines glitch

Thousands of Southwest Airlines passengers in the US were delayed at the weekend due to a technical glitch.

Travel Insurance News - 20/06/2013

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Thousands of Southwest Airlines passengers in the US were delayed at the weekend due to a technical glitch.

US media reported on Saturday that more than 250 of the carrier’s flights had to be grounded late on Friday because of a major system outage. By Saturday morning, the airline was functioning as normal, although reports said that some passengers were still facing lingering delays due to a knock-on effect.

Spokesman Brad Hawkins said on behalf of the airline that the problem had crippled ground crews’ ability to conduct check-ins and produce government-required paperwork regarding aircraft weight and balance.

Airports heavily affected by the issue included Chicago Midway, Denver, San Diego and Phoenix, according to reports.

The ordeal marks the latest among several computer-related disruption among US carriers in recent months. April saw thousands of American Airlines passengers face delays throughout the company’s domestic network due to a system glitch, whilst United Airlines saw similar problems just a few months prior.

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