United Airlines outage: The US Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it issued a ground stop for United Airlines flights at several US airports while the company itself said its teams were working to resolve a tech outage as soon as possible. According to ABC News, at least 827 flights have been delayed and 23 have been cancelled.
“We’re aware United experienced a technology issue disrupting their operations. Some delays may continue as they work through the recovery process. We’ve offered full support to help address their flight backlog and remain in close contact with United,” the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Why are United Airlines flights delayed today?
The US Transport Minister said he was briefed by the airline CEO about the incident and clarified the issue was not related to broader air traffic control system. He insisted that it was an internal issue and noted the concerned department has been supporting in restoring the system.
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“I’ve been briefed by United CEO Scott Kirby on their company’s internal tech outage. The issue was specific to United’s operations, and is unrelated to the broader air traffic control system. The team at @FAANews is in close contact with their systems operations team, and we’ve offered our full support to help them clear up the flight backlog,” US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy wrote on the social media platform, X.
United Airlines system outage
The system outage, as the company described it, lasted several hours, the statement said. It wasn’t related to recent concerns about airline industry cybersecurity. An AP journalist had boarded a United plane at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport for a trip to Houston when flight attendants announced a “systemwide” problem had grounded flights. They then sent passengers back to the terminal.
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“It’s not very nice”: Passenger
Another traveler, Johan Kotze, was at the New Orleans airport to begin a journey to the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius for vacation. Getting caught up in flight delays for him likely meant he would miss connecting flights along the way and would have to rebook not only the flights but a car and accommodations as well. “It’s not very nice,” he said of the experience.
United Airlines apologised on social media to upset customers who were facing delays and hours sitting in planes on runways.
“Hey there, we apologise for the travel disruption today,” the airline told a customer on the social platform X. “Our teams are working to resolve the outage as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.” The airline said it was paying customer expenses, including hotels when applicable.
(With inputs from agency)