Computer crash cripples airline, chaos at airport

Mumbai: Paper tickets for a plane journey with names and seat numbers scribbled on them might sound like child's play. However, paper tickets were exactly what was handed out to most passengers travelling by Jet Airways and Jetlite flights on Thursday, after the airlines' computer system crashed.
The crash set off a series of delays for departures throughout the day for all Jet Airways' flights, leaving most fliers agitated. Most Jet Airways and Jetlite flights were delayed by at least an hour. The system could be restored only by evening.
"There was a Jet and Jetlite system failure, resulting in an average delay of 45 minutes for all their flights,'' confirmed a Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson. "The disruption continued till evening,'' he added.
After the system collapsed , the airline was unable to issue boarding passes , or even give e-tickets . Most passengers had to be manually checked-in .
"I was given a paper ticket with the airline rubber stamp, but that too came when it was time for the flight to take-off as per the original schedule,'' said a passenger travelling by a Jet Airways flight to Bangalore. Instead of 3.50 pm, his flight eventually took off at 5.30 pm. "There was utter chaos at the airport with passengers left confused. Many were worried about the major delays awaiting them,'' he added.
16/01/09 Economic Times

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Categories: Airports Jan 2009