TOKYO: A system failure hit Japan Airlines Wednesday morning, affecting part of automated check-in and online booking procedures for the airline’s domestic flights.

As staff at airports across Japan, including Tokyo International Airport at Haneda, were forced to manually check in customers and luggage, delays of at least 30 minutes were caused for 23 flights as of 10:30 a.m. (1:30 a.m. GMT). The longest delay was reported for the flight from Haneda Airport to Nanki-Shirahama Airport in Wakayama Prefecture, which was delayed for about an hour.

Japan Airlines sees that the failure was caused by a breakdown of equipment linking in-house and outside systems together. Although the airline has begun restoration work, it still has no prospects for clearing the problem.

According to the airline, the failure occurred at around 4:30 a.m. As passenger and luggage check-ins have been carried out at staffed counters, flight delays may continue.

Also unavailable due to the glitch are bookings through Japan Airlines’ website for domestic package tours and those for international flights using certain settlement methods.

JIJI Press