Tag Archives: Computer Glitch

IRS gives taxpayers one-day extension after computer glitch

A general view of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said it would give taxpayers an additional day to file their 2017 returns after computer problems prevented some people from filing or paying their taxes ahead of Tuesday’s midnight deadline.

“Taxpayers do not need to do anything to receive this extra time,” the IRS said in a statement announcing the extension.

The agency said its processing systems were now back online.

Earlier, the agency said several systems were hit with the computer glitch, including one that handles some returns filed electronically and another that accepts online tax payments using a bank account.

The IRS said it believed the problem was a hardware issue and “not other factors.”

It was not clear how many taxpayers might have been affected, but the agency said it received 5 million tax returns on the final day of filing season last year.

“This is the busiest tax day of the year, and the IRS apologizes for the inconvenience this system issue caused for taxpayers,” acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter said in a statement.

The agency said taxpayers should continue to file their taxes as normal on Tuesday evening – whether electronically or on paper.

Taxpayers could also ask for six-month extensions, as President Donald Trump did. The White House said on Tuesday that Trump, because of the complexity of his tax returns, would file his by Oct. 15.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Diane Craft and Chris Reese)

New computer glitch delays United Airlines flights

Computer glitch downs the planes

By Ingrid Melander and Tim Hepher

PARIS (Reuters) – Thousands of passengers were delayed worldwide after a computer glitch temporarily halted departures at United Airlines, the latest in a series of outages to affect rival companies in the industry.

“Earlier tonight we experienced an issue with our weight reporting system, which caused system wide flight delays,” the airline said in a statement on its Twitter feed late on Thursday in the United States.

“We have resolved the issue and are working to get customers to their destinations as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Passengers said they had been forced to wait onboard planes or inside terminals as flights were delayed for several hours.

“On the plane for more than an hour, away from the gate and no communication. What’s happening?,” one passenger tweeted.

In Paris, passengers complained as check-in lines grew for a flight to New York, a Reuters reporter said on Friday morning.

The airline said the problem had been resolved as of 3 a.m. eastern time (0700 GMT) on Friday.

It is the third computer glitch to hit United’s owner United Continental Holdings in recent months and the latest in a series of problems that have tested the reliance on technology of some of the world’s largest carriers.

On June 2, software needed to dispatch United’s flight plan briefly lost functionality.

In July, the same airline’s flights were disrupted after a computer problem blocked access to reservations records.

The following month, Delta Air Lines canceled hundreds of flights and delayed many others after a power outage hit its computer systems.

And in September, a system-wide computer problem at British Airways caused significant delays.

After the two previous incidents, United Continental Holdings said in July it had invested in backup plans.

But multiple recent outages have prompted some experts and passenger groups to question whether the airline industry has invested enough in technological infrastructure, given new profits from baggage and cancellation fees.

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander, Tim Hepher; Editing by Keith Weir)

JetBlue recovering from power outage that shut down website

NEW YORK (Reuters) – JetBlue Airways Corp said it has restored online booking and check-in after a power outage shut its main website for about two hours on Thursday, raising concern about delayed 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.”

Verizon has since restored power at the center, and JetBlue’s website is up for booking and check-in, the New York-based airline said in a blog post at 2:30 PM ET.

However, JetBlue said it was “still experiencing system issues” because of the outage.

JetBlue had 36 flight delays and four cancellations as of 3:00 p.m. EST, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.com.

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

Industry consultants say computer disruptions will have a growing impact on airlines, and their passengers, as they automate more operations, outfit their planes with Wi-Fi and distribute boarding passes on smartphones.

(Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in New York; editing by Andrew Hay and Alden Bentley)