"Computer Glitch Strands Nearly 3000 At Orlando Airport"

Sunday, August 3, 2003

Airport computer glitch faces reviews
By Sandra Mathers
The Orlando (FL) Sentinel


A computer crash Friday in the immigration section of Orlando International
Airport that left 2,700 passengers waiting for hours in hot, cramped
conditions will come under scrutiny this week, an airport spokeswoman said
Saturday.

The federal agency responsible for processing international passengers
defended its handling of the incident but also said managers would review
it.

Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border
Protection in Miami, said this was the first time the backup computer system
has failed.

"I think [crowd control] was handled appropriately, given the situation,"
she said Saturday. "There are issues that need to be brought to the
attention of management."

A meeting to review the incident will include representatives from the three
airlines involved, the customs agency and airport officials, airport
spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell said.

"As we evaluate what happened, we'll certainly look at the timing of
changing out a [federal computer] system on one of the busiest international
travel days of the week and how we will handle incidents like this in the
future," she said.

Gonzalez said the immigration computers in Terminal B of the airport were
shut down at 9:30 a.m. Friday for a system upgrade. They crashed about 2
p.m. when operators tried to restart them. Then a flurry of jetliners from
Virgin Atlantic Airlines, British Airways and Aeroméxico started landing.

She said the computers were back up by 3 a.m. Saturday.

"We understand and can sympathize with travelers," Gonzalez said. "It's
important people are properly processed. It's done for their protection and
the protection of people here."

Even so, the timing couldn't have been worse for nearly 3,000 international
passengers. All arrived Friday on five flights from Britain and one from
Mexico in less than two hours, from 3:03 p.m. to 4:44 p.m., Fennell said.

Angry passengers who were herded into cramped hallways in the immigration
section of the airport complained there was little ventilation, no water and
hours with little information from officials.

Some passed out, others vomited and children cried hysterically, passengers
said Friday.

Eventually, the passengers were transported by airport buses and shuttles to
Terminal A, where immigration computers were working. Once processed, the
passengers were transported back to Terminal B to pick up their baggage and
go through customs.

Three buses were initially provided to take passengers to Terminal A. They
were later joined by another seven buses and six shuttles.

Fennell called the handling of the computer incident a "federal government
issue," in which the airport monitored the situation and stepped in to
provide buses.

Buses had to be driven across taxiways from one terminal to the other, which
required coordination with airplane-traffic controllers.


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