American Airline staff in Terminal 8 at JFK International Airport are still sorting through a pile of left luggage after a computer mishap yesterday derailed the terminal’s baggage system.
Thousands of customers abandoned hope of retrieving their bags, according to the Associated Press, and instead left the airport with the hope that AA would right the problem and deliver their luggage soon.
The error caused flight delays to ripple through Terminal 8 throughout the day yesterday.
The computer error first surfaced early in the morning yesterday, when the software that reads the bar code on each checked bag failed. After that employees began having to sort baggage by hand, and soon became overwhelmed by the volume, the AP says.
AA tried to delay incoming flights up to 90 minutes to relieve the stress on baggage handlers.
Some bags were diverted to LaGuardia airport and put on other flights, the AP says.
In response to the computer failure, AA waved its extra baggage charge for passengers checking fewer than three bags.