Southwest Cancels Flights Over Computer Glitch

A system-wide computer failure forced Southwest Airlines to ground its entire fleet of airplanes preparing for departures late yesterday, and at least 57 flights had to be canceled even after service was fully restored hours later. A spokesman said 43 of the cancellations were flights scheduled for departures last night in the western half of the United States. The others were flights scheduled for this morning scattered across the US. An estimated 250 flights—most of them on the West Coast—were grounded at least temporarily last night. The glitch impaired the airline's ability to do such things as conduct check-ins, print boarding passes, and monitor the weight of each aircraft. (American Airlines knows the feeling.)