Passengers traveling with United Airlines experienced considerable delays following a temporary grounding of flights due to a "technology issue." The airline issued a ground stop at major departure airports, impacting locations including Chicago, Denver, Houston, San Francisco, and New Jersey.
At approximately 22:00 EDT on Wednesday (02:00 GMT Thursday), United Airlines announced that the flights had resumed, though disruptions were still anticipated. "The underlying technology issue has been resolved, and, while we expect residual delays, our team is working to restore our normal operations," said a spokesperson for the airline.
As of 21:00 EDT (02:00 BST), over 700 United flights had registered delays, according to FlightAware. While flights already in transit were allowed to continue, ground stops meant potential backlogs for regional flights.
Jessica Jeffers, a passenger stuck for two hours on a plane in Denver awaiting departure to Newark, New Jersey, described the situation as "pretty rough." Many travelers took to social media, voicing frustration over extended waits on tarmacs with little information.
CBS News, a partner network of the BBC in the US, reported that United Airlines was categorizing the incident as a preventable delay, pledging to reimburse certain expenses incurred by passengers during the disruptions.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated he had been informed by United, clarifying that the technology issue was "unrelated to the broader air traffic control system" in the US.
