Frankfurt - A computer glitch caused widespread delays for flights operated by German airline Lufthansa on Wednesday, a spokesman for Europe's biggest air carrier said.

Passengers had to be checked in manually after the company's central computer crashed during a routine software update.

Some European flights were cancelled and hundreds more delayed for up to an hour, a Lufthansa spokesman said in Frankfurt. The airline has 2,000 starts and landings each day.

Passengers using the online check-in system were not affected by the glitch.

The company said the computer was re-booted mid-morning but delays were expected for the rest of the day. Services were not expected to return to normal until Thursday. (dpa)