American cancels JFK flights over baggage issues

NEW YORK - American Airlines canceled at least five flights scheduled to depart from Kennedy airport this morning and said others could be delayed one day after a software glitch in the carrier's baggage-handling system caused dozens of lags, several cancellations and a luggage pileup at ticket counters, a spokeswoman said.

The malfunction yesterday led to the delay of 48 flights, the cancellation of five more, and headaches throughout the day for passengers flying out of Terminal 8, one of the newer buildings at JFK.

Technicians had diagnosed the problem by last night. However, the system was still being tested early Thursday and wasn't yet up and running again, said airline spokeswoman Andrea Huguely. She said she couldn't estimate when the system would be working again or how many passengers had been affected.

The airline canceled at least five flights scheduled to depart from JFK this morning, Huguely said.

"If the system is not up and running [later this morning] we will have some delays," she said, adding she couldn't estimate how many.

Thousands of customers had to leave their luggage behind and hope it would be delivered later. Hundreds of bags accumulated in the terminal lobby. The breakdown was galling to some passengers already steamed over the airline's recent decision to start charging fees for checked bags on flights within the United States and Canada.

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Associated Press writers Adam Pemble, Samantha Gross and Marcus Franklin contributed to this story.