Southwest Cancels 57 Flights after Computer Glitch

CHICAGO — A spokeswoman says Southwest Airlines has cancelled 57 flights because of a computer glitch that grounded planes for more than two hours.

Michelle Agnew says 43 of the cancellations were flights scheduled for late Friday night in the western half of the country. The other 14 were Saturday morning flights scattered across the U.S. because crews were not able to get to airports in time to make the scheduled takeoffs.

Agnew says the computer system was back to "full capacity" early Saturday. The airline had used a slower backup system after the shutdown affecting about 250 flights.

Some flights were on the taxiway and diverted back to the terminal after the problem was detected around 8 p.m. PST Friday. Flights already in the air were unaffected.