Computer glitch doesn't affect ISU plane By: Liz Allen, Staff Writer December 23, 2000

A computer glitch stranded more than 100 airline passengers, creating long lines Friday morning in Des Moines. But it didn't affect a chartered Iowa State University plane heading to the Insight.com Bowl game. Michael Audino, director of airport marketing, said a computer problem delayed or canceled several Northwest Airlines flights in and out of the Des Moines International Airport. The long lines lasted for at least three hours. Nationally, 150 flights were affected.

The problem did not, however, delay the ISU football team's flight to Phoenix for an appearance at the Insight.com Bowl game on Thursday.

The trouble started when Mesaba, an airlink that operates some flights for Northwest, had a computer problem at 1 p.m. Thursday.

Ann Barkelew, a Mesaba airline spokesperson, said the company's computers were running by 7 p.m. Thursday. But, she said, that still affected flights because some planes could not get to their exact location by Friday morning.

"A plane can't depart if it does not have all the information," Barkelew said.

"Trust me, it's gotten better as the day has gone on," Audino said. He said by 1 p.m. Friday the long line had disappeared.

Because it's the holiday season, Audino said passengers should be prepared for any delays.

To avoid problems, he said air travelers should arrive at the airport at least one hour prior to their flight departure. He also said they should be aware of what airlines allow as carry-on baggage.

"Everyone's emotion runs a little higher," he said. "The business traveler is anxious to get home, people are anxious to visit family ... passengers should give themselves more time and try to remember what the season is all about."

The National Weather Service in Des Moines is predicting cold temperatures and little snow through Christmas Day. There's a chance for two inches to four inches of snow today but not blizzard conditions.

There's a chance for snow again Tuesday night, said Andy Kula, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said it's too early to tell what the storm will do, but "it does bear watching."

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2035&dept_id=333477&newsid=1208803&PAG=461&rfi=9

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 24, 2000

Answers

This would appear to be the same glitch that affected lots of other flights from Minneapolis, as noted in an AP article I posted here on 22 December (just in case anyone is trying to quantitatively follow computer problems via postings here).

Cheers, --Andre in southcentral Pennsylvania

-- Andre Weltman (aweltman@state.pa.us), December 27, 2000.