Southwest Airlines experiences nationwide outage, flight delays

LOS ANGELES (CNS / FOX 11) - Southwest Airlines passengers at Los Angeles International Airport and other airfields across the Southland and nation were dealing with extensive delays Wednesday caused by a computer failures that prompted a temporary halt to all flights.

According to the airline, Southwest "began experiencing intermittent performance issues earlier this afternoon with multiple technology systems as a result of an outage.''

As a result, the airline issued a "ground stop'' for all flights that had not yet left the gate. Many passengers took to Twitter, complaining of extensive delays.

The ground stop was lifted around 1 p.m., but delays were expected to continue throughout the day as the airline worked to get flights back in the air.

Statement from Southwest Airlines:

Customers who are booked to travel, Thursday, July 21, should check flight status information onSouthwest.com and plan to arrive to the airport early, as long lines may occur. Our Teams will continue to work diligently through the night to resolve any outstanding issues.

Southwest Airlines began experiencing intermittent performance issues earlier this afternoon with multiple technology systems as a result of an outage. We have canceled nearly 700 flights today and hundreds more have been delayed. Systems are gradually coming back online and we continue to enable a fully restored operation. We sincerely apologize to our Customers whose travel plans have been impacted.

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