Southwest Airlines encounters computer glitch

DALLAS — Customers of Southwest Airlines Co. briefly experienced problems booking and checking on flights Thursday because of computer problems at the company.

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Southwest said it began restoring some functions including booking after about 20 minutes but took longer to restore other tasks such as canceling or changing reservations.

The glitch came six days after a computer outage grounded United Airlines for five hours and caused the airline to cancel about 40 flights and delay about 100 others. Some passengers were stranded at airports overnight.

Southwest's disruption occurred on the last day of a major 3-day airfare sale, and spokeswoman Brandy King said heavy traffic might have caused the problem.

Visitors attempting to book flights on Southwest's website got a message saying the page was undergoing maintenance and was unavailable. Southwest operates more than 3,000 daily flights and carries the most passengers in the U.S. of any airline.