DENVER -- United Airlines plans to quit using a $193 million baggage-handling system in favor of a manual one.

The airline had not posted an announcement on its Web site Tuesday, but The Associated Press quoted United Airlines Spokesman Jeff Green, as its source.

Denver International Airport Spokesman Chuck Cannon said Tuesday that even if United scraps the system, the airline will still be on the hook for 20 to 25 years of payments to the airport the system. It pays $60 million a year to lease the system now, according to Green.

UALCorp.'s United Airlines finally is giving up on its expensive, ill-functioning automated baggage system at Denver International Airport.

The highly touted automated system had glitches from the start and delayed the opening of the airport for 16 months while technicians worked to keep it from mangling luggage.

The city of Denver spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to get the system to work and eventually turned it over to United Airlines.

The move to a manual system will save United at least $1 million a month in fees that it pays technicians to keep the system operating. United is not expected to make the switchover until 2007.

The DIA baggage-handling system was created by BAE Automated Systems of Carrollton, Texas. The three other airports have similar automated systems. They are San Francisco International Airport, Rhein-Main International Airport in Frankfurt, Germany and Franz Joseph Strauss Airport in Munich, Germany.