NEW YORK, NY July 30, 2008 —Flights have been delayed and luggage piling up at ticket counters at JFK's Terminal 8 today, after a computer software glitch crippled the baggage handling system.

A spokesman for American Airlines, which uses the terminal, said about 20 flights were delayed by 60 to 90 minutes. The airline was sorting luggage by hand, but the backlog meant that many bags didn't make it on to departing planes.

The airline was giving passengers the choice of waiting out the problem, or flying on without their luggage and having the bags delivered later.