By David Koenig

United Airlines said Tuesday it repaired a technology glitch that had forced it to halt departures nationwide, briefly crippling one of the nation's biggest carriers on a busy travel day.

Federal officials said United crews had been unable to contact airline dispatchers through normal means.

“United asked the FAA to pause the airline’s departures nationwide,” the Federal Aviation Administration said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

The FAA said the issue was limited to United and its subsidiaries. It was less than an hour from the time that the FAA issued a bulletin about United's ground stop until the agency said that flights were resuming — shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern time.

“We have identified a fix for the technology issue and flights have resumed,” United said in a statement. “We’re working with impacted customers to help them reach their destinations as soon as possible.”

United said earlier that it was “experiencing a systemwide technology issue" and was holding up all departing planes. Flights that were already in the air when the technology problem occurred continued to their destinations, the airline said.

By midafternoon Tuesday on the East Coast, United had canceled only seven flights, well below its average of about 16 per day over the busy Labor Day weekend, according to figures from tracking service FlightAware.

However, more than 300 United flights were delayed — 12% of the carrier's schedule, far more than rivals American, Delta and Southwest — on a day that many holiday vacationers were expected to fly home.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has criticized airlines for flight problems and other issues over the past year, posted that the FAA was “receiving more information about the cause and scope of the issue, and DOT will make sure UA meets its obligations to affected passengers.”

The FAA is part of the Department of Transportation.

Shares of Chicago-based United Airlines Holdings Inc. fell on news of the ground stop and were down almost 3% in afternoon trading.

Share:
More In Business
How Slutty Vegan ATL CEO is Helping CAU Graduates
Pinky Cole, founder and CEO of Slutty Vegan ATL, is helping college grads start new businesses. She is providing Clark Atlanta University grads with LLCs. Cole joins Cheddar News to discuss giving grads a financial boost and the success of her vegan food chain.
Reepher Offers Liability Protection Against Cannabis DUI Stops
Reepher is a Salt Lake City-based company that offers a prepaid legal defense plan for cannabis DUIs. CEO and co-founder Justin Kahn joined Cheddar News to break down the business model, explaining how lawful users may be in trouble when being pulled over by police. "The reason is because cannabis users have THC and cannabis cannabinoids in their system regardless of the last time that they consumed," he said. "Any regular cannabis user is at risk, or they're one mistake away from having an interaction with a police officer that could lead them to be suspected of being under the influence of cannabis."
Elon Musk Says Remote Work 'No Longer Acceptable' at Tesla
Elon Musk is demanding his Tesla employees to return to the office full time, a minimum of at least 40 hours a week. The CEO also took a shot at other companies who have some form of work-from-home status. The ultimatum comes at a tumultuous time for Musk with the reveal of a sexual misconduct scandal and his attempted Twitter purchase.
Escaping the Cyber Complexity Trap
Bindu Sundaresan, Director, AT&T Cybersecurity, joins Cheddar to discuss best practices and important cybersecurity milestones to hit for any organization, and how small business owners can think about cyber beyond technology and compliance.
Re-Wiring After a Career in the NFL
Marques Ogden, former NFL offensive lineman turned author and celebrity success coach, joins Cheddar to discuss his career transition after his NFL playing days and how he overcame a low point to prioritize family and re-shape his life as a success coach.
Load More