United Airlines Restores Service After Technology Outage Causes Delays, Cancellations
United Airlines has resolved a technology issue that caused disruptions to its mainline flights departing from various airports on Wednesday evening. The company confirmed the resolution and stated that although residual delays persisted, efforts are being made to restore normal operations.
The outage occurred at 6:12 p.m. ET and was resolved within a few hours. However, delayed flights continued into the night as per the airline’s announcement. As of 9:45 p.m. ET, approximately 31% of United Airlines’ flights had been delayed, and 1% had been canceled, according to FlightAware data.
United Airlines assured that the outage was unrelated to recent cybersecurity concerns within the airline industry. The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged the disruption, stating that some delays might continue as United works through the recovery process. The FAA is providing assistance to address United’s “flight backlog” and remains in close contact with the airline.
Passengers on a flight from Nashville to Denver experienced a two-hour delay due to the system outage, according to Angela Jeffers, who shared that the pilot informed passengers about the technology issue. Jeffers reported receiving an update around 9:30 p.m. ET indicating that some flights had started boarding, but traffic constraints prevented all from doing so. United offered compensation in the form of a hotel stay and rebooked flight for the following day to those whose flights had not yet boarded.
Jessica Jeffers, Angela’s sister, was also affected by the disruption at Denver Airport on Wednesday night, spending two hours on a plane waiting for further information about the situation. The air conditioning in the aircraft was reportedly running low, making it uncomfortable for passengers.
Airports in Chicago, Denver, Newark, Houston, and San Francisco were affected, as per the Federal Aviation Administration’s system status, which indicated that ground stops had been requested by United at about 7:30 p.m. ET.
This report has been updated with additional information.