Flying out of Phoenix to head to a wedding or another special event?
Don’t put that suit or nice dress in a checked bag.
There’s no telling when it will show up.
Thousands of checked bags piled up Thursday at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix after technical issues with computer servers prevented the Transportation Security Administration from using machines to screen the luggage.
The result was more than 3,000 bags missing flights, said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the TSA.
Hours later, the baggage screening resumed late Thursday night and the screening systems were operational, CNN affiliate KPHO reported.
Many of the bags were stacked up in a parking lot while their owners went on to their destinations.
“It’s frustrating, yes. I’m tired, tired as everybody else,” one passenger told CNN affiliate KNXV. “I thought if this had happened before maybe there would be a better system in place.”
Another traveler told CNN affiliate KPHO that some bags were being checked by hand. Mindy McLarren told the Phoenix station that she was told officials would “eventually get the bag to us.”
She added: “It’s very stressful because I hope that everything that I packed is still in there after people have hand-checked it. And just that it gets there on time.”
McLarren said she took things out of a bag to be checked and put them in her carry-on.
The problem began Thursday morning at 6:45, the TSA said. Officers switched to an alternative system and brought in additional bomb-sniffing dogs as the bags kept coming. Later in the day, officials brought in tractor-trailers to take some of the bags to other airports.
Officials advised passengers to go to the airport early and to avoid checking bags when possible. Flights where leaving as scheduled.
And you might just want to wear that special outfit on the plane.