O'Hare

Delays at Chicago Airports Following Customs Computer Issue

Officials said "there is no indication the disruption was malicious in nature"

A nationwide U.S. Customs Border and Protection computer outage on Friday resulted in several-hour delays for international travelers, including at both Midway and O'Hare international airports.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it suffered "a temporary outage in the processing systems" Friday afternoon. The agency added "there is no indication the disruption was malicious in nature at this time."

As of 6 p.m., processing of international arrivals at O'Hare airport was back to normal, according to O'Hare's Twitter account.

Photos and videos sent to NBC 5 showed crowds of people, and long lines at checkpoints inside O'Hare. Similar scenes unfolded at other major U.S. airports, including at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C.

As a result, some international travelers also encountered delays on Friday night.

Passengers at O'Hare told NBC 5 that they waited for two to three hours. Some people who were waiting said the biggest problem was that no one announced what was going on. 

"Horrible, but it happens," said Bela Brahmbhatt, who was waiting for her mother-in-law. "I think all of American runs on computers, right? So, I wish they would at least tell us 'your handicapped...relative is here, so we know what's going on.'"

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