MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) -- Northwest Airlines Corp. said a computer problem that developed Tuesday afternoon resulted in delays and cancellations of some Northwest and Northwest Airlink flights.
Spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said Detroit was the most seriously affected of its three U.S. hubs. Minneapolis-St. Paul and Memphis, Tennessee, were experiencing fewer delays. The departure delays included international flights.
Of Northwest's 1,364 scheduled flights Tuesday, about 285 departures were delayed an average of 21 minutes as result of the computer problem, he said.
A few Airlink flights, operated by Pinnacle Airlines and Mesaba Airlines, were canceled, he said. No Northwest flights were canceled over the issue.
The problem began around 1:30 p.m. CDT and was centered in a computer system that enables communication between the Worldspan global distribution system and some Northwest airport computer systems, Northwest said. The system began gradually returning to normal about 45 minutes later but was still operating at limited capacity late Tuesday, Ebenhoch said.
Northwest was encouraging customers to check in and obtain their boarding passes over the Internet and check their flight status online.
The company also issued a waiver allowing customers to change their travel plans without penalty. Customers with confirmed tickets for travel scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday may reschedule their travel to begin on or before August 1 without penalty or administrative fees.