United Airlines Grounds Hundreds of Flights Across Major U.S. Airports Following Tech Breakdown
In a dramatic turn of events, United Airlines brought air travel to a grinding halt on Wednesday night after a major technology failure forced the airline to temporarily ground all mainline departures across the United States crippling operations and leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
The ground stop impacted some of the nation’s busiest airports, including Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Houston, San Francisco, and Newark Liberty in New Jersey, triggering widespread delays and sparking chaos throughout the air travel system.
The halt was lifted around 10:00 PM EDT (02:00 GMT Thursday), but United warned travelers that residual delays would ripple through its schedule as the airline struggled to resume normal operations.
“The underlying technology issue has been resolved,” United said in a statement.
“While we expect lingering delays, our teams are working swiftly to stabilize our operations and get our customers moving again.”
By 9:00 PM EDT, more than 700 United flights had been delayed, according to data from FlightAware, with many passengers stuck on tarmacs or waiting in crowded terminals with little communication from the airline.
Flights already in the air were not affected and continued to their destinations. However, even regional routes, which were not directly impacted by the tech failure, began experiencing delays due to mounting congestion and limited gate availability.
Frustration boiled over online as passengers shared their travel nightmares. One traveler, Jessica Jeffers, told CNN she had been stuck on the tarmac in Denver for over two hours, awaiting clearance for takeoff to Newark.
“It’s been pretty rough over here,” she said.
In a silver lining for travelers, CBS News reported that United is treating the disruption as a “preventable delay”—a move that holds the airline responsible for covering certain costs such as meals, hotel stays, or transportation for stranded passengers.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed he was briefed on the situation and reassured the public that the glitch was not tied to the broader national air traffic control system, alleviating concerns of a system-wide failure.
As recovery efforts continue, travelers are strongly advised to monitor their flight status closely and prepare for continued delays and disruptions throughout Thursday.
