BRISBANE, Australia, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- A computer glitch at Australia's Virgin Blue airlines has stranded thousands and forced the cancellation of more than 100 flights, the company said Sunday.
The breakdown in Virgin Blue's computerized reservations and check-in system has affected more than 100,000 travelers across Australia, and many spent hours waiting at major airports for the system to recover, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. said.
It was unknown what Sunday's shutdown will have on flights Monday, and Virgin Blue said it might add extra flights to clear the backlog of passengers. Meanwhile, it is working with a contractor to fix the computer issue, the report said.
"We hope the system will be up and running on Sunday evening ... what will happen with the schedule, at this stage it's too early to tell," Virgin Blue spokesman Colin Lippiatt said.
In Sydney, check-in lines wound throughout the terminal, outside to the taxi waiting area, and one traveler described the scene as "chaotic."
"Absolute chaos -- we've no idea what's going on -- there's no communication that's been spread around the place whatsoever," he said. "It's the beginning of the holidays I believe, and we've just arrived back from a 14-hour flight from Canada, and walked into absolute chaos, we've no idea what's going on."
The airline said it is working with Vavitaire, the company that supplies its reservation and check-in systems, to solve the problem.
Virgin Blue is Australia's second-largest airline and is based in Brisbane.
