Computer glitch causes gridlock at LA airport

A US Customs computer systems malfunction stranded more than 20,000 international passengers for several hours at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday.

The system, which contains information on criminals that is used to screen passengers seeking to enter the US, went down around 2pm West Coast time and was not restored until 11.45pm.

But it took Customs officials until nearly 4am the following morning to clear the last of the backlogged travellers.

Many passengers who had already spent 10 or more hours on aeroplanes during their flights were kept on their planes for several hours after the international terminals used for processing arriving passengers reached capacity.

Airport officials said the stranded planes were connected to ground power and passengers had access to food, water and bathrooms.

"That system allows our officers to make decisions on who we can allow to enter the US," Mike Fleming, a US Customs and Border Protection spokesman, told the Associated Press.

Homeland Security officials blamed the malfunction on the fibre optic cables that support the system used to process international passengers.

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