Long lines stretched out the doors of both terminals at San Diego International Airport early Tuesday after an IT outage knocked out ticketing systems, forcing gate agents to manually process thousands of travelers with iPads and paper tickets. The breakdown began around 5:30 a.m. and hit Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 alike, turning routine check-ins into a slow, chaotic scramble during one of the airport's busiest morning windows.
The outage was caused by an IT failure, according to an airport update reported by Newsradio 600 KOGO, which knocked primary airline computer networks offline and pushed staff onto emergency backup procedures. With ticketing systems down, agents had no choice but to check travelers in the old-fashioned way, and the manual process caused check-in lines to spill out terminal doors, the station reported.
Despite the disruption, San Diego International Airport remained open, and flights kept arriving and departing throughout the morning, airport spokesperson Nicole Hall confirmed to CBS 8. Hall said ticketing issues were slowing processing inside the terminals but had not grounded the airport's operations. Passengers were advised to check flight status directly with their airlines rather than rely on terminal displays.
Crowds Pile Up at Terminals and TSA Lines
As reported by the New York Post, passengers faced long lines and crowded terminals throughout the morning. The airport posted an update advising travelers to arrive early and check flight status directly with their airline as delays rippled through the concourses.
For travelers arriving by car, the airport's dedicated low-power radio station on 1690 AM was broadcasting live security updates, check-in advisories, and travel instructions to help ease roadside congestion, per the same CBS 8 report. The station is normally used to keep curbside traffic moving, but it took on added importance as terminal delays pushed more anxious drivers and riders toward the curb.
A Single-Runway Airport Under Pressure
San Diego International Airport handled more than 25.3 million passengers in 2025, making it the busiest single-runway airport in the United States, according to a citation on Wikipedia. San Diego International Airport has a single runway.
The airport is also in the middle of a major overhaul. Terminal 1 is part of a multi-phase redevelopment not slated for full completion until 2028, the same Wikipedia entry notes. Alaska Airlines operates at the airport, according to information cited by Smartwaiver.
Part of a Bigger National Headache
The San Diego breakdown landed the same week as a much larger aviation crisis on the East Coast. A severed fiber-optic cable in the Northeast triggered FAA ground stops and halts at major hubs including JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia on September 21, according to Big News Network. The near-simultaneous failures on opposite coasts underscored how fragile the technology backbone of American air travel can be when a single point fails.
San Diego International Airport also became one of 13 U.S. airports participating in the TSA's expanded PreCheck Gateside program this month, which allows pre-approved non-traveling visitors to pass security checkpoints to meet arriving passengers or reach gate-area amenities, per a report from The Ticker. The program has also raised concerns about crowding at security checkpoints.
