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Power Outage at JetBlue Data Center Cancels Flights, Shuts Website

JetBlue Airways Corp warned of delays or cancellations Thursday after a power outage took down its main website and affected customers checking in for flights.
Image: Jetblue power outage
Passengers waiting at LaGuardia Airport.@jasonwhitney

NEW YORK -- JetBlue Airways Corp. warned of delays or cancellations Thursday after a power outage took down its main website and affected customers checking in for flights.

A maintenance operation disrupted power at a data center run by JetBlue's business partner Verizon Communications Inc., the airline said in a statement, adding that this was not a "cyber security issue."

Image: Jetblue power outage
Passengers waiting at LaGuardia Airport.@jasonwhitney

"Power has been restored to Verizon's data center and we are working to fully restore our systems as soon as possible," the New York-based airline said. "Flights are still departing at this time but customers traveling may experience delays or cancellations."

JetBlue had 36 flight delays and four cancellations as of 1:45 p.m. ET, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.com.

Some consumers on social media shared scenes of long lines at JetBlue desks and said they had difficulty checking in for flights or printing boarding passes.

Just after 2:30 p.m. ET, the airline said online check-in and flight booking services had been restored after users had trouble accessing both its website and mobile app, CNBC reported.

The technical issue follows several high-profile computer problems that U.S. airlines faced in 2015, including a router error at United Continental Holdings Inc., a Southwest Airlines ticketing glitch, and a malfunctioning iPad application used by pilots at American Airlines Group Inc.

Industry consultants say the impact of computer disruptions will keep growing as airlines automate an increasing chunk of operations, outfit their planes with wi-fi and distribute boarding passes on smartphones.

Jacob Pramuk of CNBC contributed to this report.