Don't Blame the Planes This Time: LAX Computer Breakdown Stranded Over 20,000 Passengers Last Weekend

More than 20,000 international passengers, both Americans and foreigners, sat in four airport terminals and in 60 planes last Saturday when a computer failure prevented Los Angeles airport customs officials from screening arrivals, said Los Angeles World Airports spokesman Paul Haney, the AP reports.

A major switch in the system, which contains names of arriving passengers and law enforcement data about them, including arrest warrants, had failed and had to be replaced, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mike Fleming said. "That system allows our officers to make decisions on who we can allow to enter the United States. You just don't know by looking at them."

"This is probably one of the worst days we've had. I've been with the agency for 30 years and I've never seen the system go down and stay down for as long as it did," Peter Gordon, acting port director for customs, told the Los Angeles Times.

Officials diverted seven incoming flights to another airport and advised international passengers departing Sunday to check the status of their flights before leaving for the airport. Terminals that normally accept international passengers were full by 2:30 p.m. Saturday, and passengers arriving afterward had to remain on the runway until there was room inside the terminal buildings. Three people were transported to local hospitals after they fell ill while waiting in the terminals, according to the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

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