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Tuesday, 22nd March 2016
In Japan Travel News,
Thousands grounded in Japan due to airline computer glitch
Passengers at several of Japan’s major airports have been grounded after a problem with airline computer systems has seen them stop working.
News of the delays broke when All Nippon Airways (ANA) posted a notice on its website apologising to customers for the issues this morning (March 22nd).
It blamed a “system malfunction” for the problems that have made internet check-in, seat selection, new reservations, changes to reservations and payments impossible to process.
The failure is affecting domestic flights and technicians are working hard to resolve the issues and get the system working again.
ANA’s main hub, Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, is the worst hit, mainly due to the large number of flights and passengers that pass through it every day.
The airport’s flight update site showed that many of the airline’s scheduled departures were either delayed or cancelled.
While ANA is the worst affected, a number of airlines that use the same system, including Starflyer, Airdo, Solaseed Air and Ibex Airlines, are also encountering problems.
The timing of the glitch couldn’t be worse for travellers in Japan, as today marks the end of a three-day holiday across the nation and many people are trying to return home.
Increased passenger numbers are only adding to the chaos and once the system is fixed, there will be knock-on effects to flights due to those stranded at airports.
Japanese television channels are broadcasting scenes of terminals full of frustrated travellers unable to reach their destinations.
The most recent figures, cited by Japan Today, suggest that 127 domestic flights have been affected, with 16,000 passengers unable to board planes.
This is only likely to increase until the computer system is fully functional again.
At present, there is no indication as to what caused the malfunction in the first place.
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