Several major airports across the United States reported outages of Customs and Border Protection's computer systems used to process airline passengers, raising the specter of a nationwide outage.
JFK International Airport tweeted Friday afternoon that its agents were processing passengers slowly because "Customs systems are down right now nationwide."
Story Continued Below
Los Angeles International Airport also announced via Twitter that its CBP systems were experiencing an issue that appeared to be affecting several airports.
NBC News tweeted the problem is occurring at Washington Dulles, Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway international airports as well.
"Officers are processing passengers manually so please check with your airline for the latest status of any flight impacts," LAX wrote.
A CBP spokesperson has confirmed that the agency's computer systems were down at several airports, a situation that was creating long lines for many travelers Friday evening.
CBP is experiencing a "temporary outage with its processing systems at various air ports of entry and is taking immediate action to address the technology disruption," the spokesperson wrote in an email to POLITICO.
Morning Transportation newsletter
A daily speed read on transportation and infrastructure — in your inbox.
"CBP officers continue to process international travelers using alternative procedures until systems are back online," the spokesperson continued.
CBP later tweeted that the failed systems were back on track and a malicious attack was not suspected.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport indicated that Customs systems are back up there and backlogged passengers are being processed.
CBP said its agents would work to process travelers as quickly as possible while maintaining "the highest levels of security."