Throngs of passengers stranded in the United Airlines terminal at O'Hare International Airport on Friday night were told to go home or get a hotel after a "nationwide computer malfunction" took out the airline's reservations systems.

The systems went down shortly after 7 p.m., a United Airlines spokeswoman said. After roughly three hours, passengers were told that there would be no more flights. Local travelers were told to go home and some travelers from out of town were given discount vouchers to nearby hotels.

Passengers said they were frustrated they were kept in line waiting for about two hours before any announcements came from the airline.

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