Software Glitch Paralyzes Airport Check-Ins

Airlines worldwide saw congestion at the check-in counters Thursday after a software crash hampered passenger and luggage registration.

The global system of Amadeus IT Group, which supports bookings and other operations for 125 airlines, suffered a temporary network failure that prevented both online and in-person check-in and resulted in hours-long holdups. The now-resolved problem is expected to cause few delays.

"Amadeus technical teams took immediate action to identify the cause of the issue and restore services as quickly as possible," the company said in a statement. "That action is ongoing with services gradually being restored."

The brief outage affected Southwest Airlines Co LUV at multiple U.S. airports, as well as the well trafficked Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

It also troubled Air France KLM SA (ADR), China Airlines Ltd., Qantas Airways Limited and Korean Air Lines Co Ltd, as well as airports in Washington, Frankfurt, Zurich, London, Paris, Melbourne, Johannesburg, Tokyo and Seoul, according to CNN and Telegraph. London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports confirmed delays.