The U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s system is back online after crashing on Friday evening and causing massive delays at airports across the country.
‘The affected systems are coming back online and travelers are being processed,’ the CBP said in a tweet at 6.37pm ET.
‘CBP will continue to monitor the incident. There is no indication the disruption was malicious in nature at this time.’
Earlier in the evening, U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealed on Twitter that they were experiencing a ‘temporary outage with its processing systems at various air ports of entry & is taking immediate action to address the technology disruption.’
The outage had impacted more than 10 major airports.
‘CBP officers continue to process international travelers using alternative procedures until systems are back online. CBP officers are working to process travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining the highest levels of security.’
JFK, New York: Air travelers are facing chaos and massive delays at airports across the country. This picture was taken at JFK Airport

Dulles, Washington D.C: ‘Nothing is moving. Very frustrating,’ One twitter user wrote as they shared this snap from Dulles Airport in Washington

O’Hare, Chicago: Crowds of people wait at the customs line at O’Hare Airport in Chicago after the computer outage Friday. ‘I can see maybe 1,000 others and I know the line goes around the corner too,’ this Twitter user captioned this snap

JFK, New York: One traveler shared this picture, writing: ‘Here’s a better perspective of the customs line at JFK. People are growing frustrated. Nothing like landing after a 10 hour flight to this’
LAX Airport tweeted: ‘@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.’
JFK Airport told a customer on Twitter: ‘Just to let you know Customs is experiencing a system shutdown nationwide. They are processing passengers manually until the system comes back online. Thanks for your patience.’
Newark Airport was also experiencing problems that was impacting their B and C Terminals, according to their Twitter. Passengers were being processed manually there.
Both Midway and O’Hare are experiencing issues in Chicago, sharing on Twitter that ‘alternative procedures are in place until systems are back up.’
Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. retweeted the CBP’s tweet about multiple airports experiencing issues. Numerous passengers shared photos of the packed airport and the chaos that was unfolding.
The Philadelphia International Airport also shared the CBP’s updates and advised customers to follow them for the most up-to-date notifications.
Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport was also among the airports impacted.

O’Hare, Chicago: Some passengers were stuck on planes. Above a snap is shared by a flyer landing at O’Hare Airport in Chicago

Philadelphia: Luggage awaits pickup at Philadelphia International Airport after the computer outage on Friday

Dulles, Washington D.C: Furious flyers took to Twitter to express their dismay at the delays. Above the chaos at Dulles Airport in Washington

Dulles, Washington D.C: People wait in line at Dulles Airport in Washington after the outage. There’s believe to be at least 5,000 in line at this airport


JFK, New York: Passengers took to Instagram to express their frustrations and share photos of the chaos. Above the lines at JFK
The San Francisco International Airport notified passengers traveling through the airport that the issue was impacting ‘international arrivals only.’
Even the Toronto Pearson International Airport announced that it ‘deployed extra staff in the terminals to assist passengers and we thank you for your patience’ as it was impacted by the crash as well.
It is not clear what caused the problem. Passengers are sharing pictures of enormous lines as they attempt to get back into the United States.
‘We all waited an hour and a half… what’s the point of traveling with my US passport,’ one person asked as they annoyingly waited in JFK’s airport.
Rebekah Tromble, an associate professor at George Washington University, tweeted a video clip in which she panned over the arrival hall at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia. She estimated there were at least 5,000 people packed into the hall.
Tromble was asked if she could see whether customs agents were screening people manually.
‘It’s not clear from my vantage point. I’m still too far back in line,’ she answered.
Airports in Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, New York and elsewhere notified travelers of potential delays at the beginning of one of the last weekends of the summer vacation season.
The port authority that operates New York’s JFK Airport and the airport in Newark, New Jersey, said additional staff and police officers monitored situation and helped where needed. Los Angeles International Airport said it sent staffers to CBP areas to help direct travelers.
A CBP spokeswoman said the systems were running again by early evening on the East Coast.
The agency didn’t precisely describe the breakdown, but the spokeswoman said there was ‘no indication of any nefarious activity.’ She said officers were able to access security-related databases and maintain security standards while screening people manually.



Above, airports including San Francisco and Newark Liberty shared updates on the outage

It is not clear what caused the problem but CBP has shared that they are using ‘alternative procedures until systems are back online’

San Francisco: Luggage awaits passengers arriving at the city’s international airport

Washington: People wait in line at Dulles Airport. It is not clear how long it may take to fix the problem

Toronto’s airport was also affected by the outage. Crowds of people wait at the customs line at Toronto Pearson Airport

At Dulles Airport in Washington this Twitter user couldn’t see an end to the problems tweeting ‘gonna be here forever’