United Airlines grounds flights at US airports over technology glitch
United Airlines grounded its flights at US airports on Aug 6 due to a technology issue.
WASHINGTON – United Airlines said it had grounded its flights at US airports on Aug 6 due to a technology issue, and warned of additional flight delays in the evening.
'Due to a technology issue, we are holding United mainline flights at their departure airports,' the airline said.
United suffered an outage of its weight calculation system, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
'The issue affecting United Airlines flights has been resolved and mainline flights are departing once again,' flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said on social media at 9.19pm Eastern Time (9.19am on Aug 7, Singapore time).
The US Federal Aviation Administration said earlier it issued a ground stop for United flights at several US airports.
The ground stops were issued at major United hub airports including Newark, Denver, Houston, Chicago, according to the regulator's website.
As at 9.25pm Eastern Time, flight tracking data from FlightAware showed that 870, or 28 per cent, of United flights had been delayed on Aug 6.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Some ageing condos in Singapore struggle with failing infrastructure, inadequate sinking funds
Singapore PUB investigating waste water discharge in Eunos: Pritam
World Trump eyes 100% chips tariff, but 0% for US investors like Apple
Business DBS shares hit record-high after Q2 profit beats forecast on strong wealth fees, trading income
Business UOB Q2 profit drops 6% to $1.34 billion, missing forecast
Singapore ST and Uniqlo launch design contest for Singapore stories T-shirt collection
World White House says Trump open to meeting Russia's Putin and Ukraine's Zelensky
Singapore MRT track issue causes 5-hour delay; Jeffrey Siow says 'we can and will do better'
United's outage came a few weeks after Alaska Airlines grounded all of its flights for about three hours due to an IT outage for the second time in just over a year.
In April 2024, Alaska grounded its entire fleet due to an issue with the system that calculates the weight and balance of its planes. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
32 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Former data analyst creates AI tutor that assesses students based on Singapore schools' criteria
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Mr Jotham Goh quit his data analyst job in 2024 to tinker with AI and, in April, launched an AI tutor to help students. SINGAPORE – Growing up, Mr Jotham Goh had always dreamt of having an on-demand artificial intelligence (AI) tutor so he would have more time to rest after school. 'I had three to four tuition classes weekly after school. I dreaded them as I still had to go even if I was tired,' said Mr Goh. When the 33-year-old quit his data analyst job in 2024 to tinker with AI, his natural inclination was to revisit his childhood ideas. In April, he launched The Wise Otter – an AI tutor to help primary, secondary and junior college students with mathematics, English, chemistry, physics and biology. The tool comes amid increasing use of AI in the education sector. It competes with mainstream tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT (of which an update was rolled out on Aug 8), Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude. Mr Goh, who graduated with a finance degree from the Singapore Management University in 2016, said: ' The Wise Otter is more tailored to the needs of Singapore students. The Wise Otter is trained on hundreds of pages of past-year examination papers, assessment books and model answers from local teachers. 'For a subject like English, I codified the syllabus and the grading criteria used in the local school system, which is why the bot is more tailored to the needs of Singapore students. The bot is able to spot mistakes made by students like how a teacher would, such as when they don't follow a certain structure.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Profile of Kpod user has shifted from hardcore drug users to young people: Experts Singapore 4 men arrested after police search operation in forested area near Rail Corridor World Thousands protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli govt move to expand Gaza war Opinion Recognising our imperfections is part of what makes Singapore whole Opinion I used to be impatient. Then I became a granddad Business The risks of using 'decoupling' to own two properties Asia Manila struggles to keep a lasting hawker culture, casts eyes on how Asian nations lifted street food The bot is accessible via messaging platform Telegram. Students can either type out their questions or upload a photo of their homework. The bot is equipped to break down complex maths problems and solve them, unpack English comprehension passages and explain science theories and concepts. Mr Goh's Telegram bot answers up to eight AI queries daily. A weekly fee starting from $4.20 for 1,000 queries per month will kick in after that. The Wise Otter's website allows JC students to brush up on their knowledge on current affairs and essay-writing techniques for General Paper. Students get five AI requests for free daily, or they can pay a monthly fee starting from $16 for 1,000 requests . After the bot was created and launched in April, he promoted it on online forum Reddit, which has a subgroup frequented by Singaporean students seeking advice on examinations. Since then, The Wise Otter has garnered around 600 weekly active users – most of whom ask maths questions, he said, declining to reveal how many of them are paying ones. Mr Goh admitted that about 10 per cen t of the answers provided by The Wise Otter are wrong, and the bot still needs tweaking. In its current form, he added, The Wise Otter does not replace human tutors, who will still be needed for identifying and addressing recurring weaknesses in each student's workings and understanding of a topic. Students can use The Wise Otter bot to brush up on their skills in several subjects, such as practising conversational skills for an oral examination. PHOTO: SCREENSHOT FROM THE WISE OTTER Kaitlyn Ang, 16 , has been using the bot almost daily for three months to revise English and mathematics to prepare for her O-level examinations as a private candidate. She cannot afford a human tutor, but finds the bot to be as good as one. She practises English oral topics with the bot, which guides her on what needs elaboration. She said she also gained a better understanding of trigonometry, which she had struggled to grasp in the past. 'It can provide helpful exam tips, explanations for questions I struggle with, and give feedback,' she said. She acknowledged that the bot is not perfect, but said that the answers are better aligned with what her school teachers taught than answers from ChatGPT and Claude. The use of AI in education dominated headlines in recent months due to its potential for academic dishonesty. To promote responsible academic use of the chatbot, OpenAI on July 30 rolled out a Study Mode for ChatGPT that uses a Socratic tutoring style to respond to students' questions. The style emphasises guided discovery through questioning rather than giving direct answers. Study Mode, which can be turned on or off, will eventually provide direct solutions if asked repeatedly for the answers. Study Mode's approach is aligned with The Wise Otter's. For instance, The Wise Otter does not generate full General Paper essays for students. Instead, the bot provides feedback on how to improve written essays in ways that are similar to how human teachers work. An example of how The Wise Otter gives feedback to improve a student's General Paper essay. PHOTO: SCREENSHOT FROM THE WISE OTTER Mr Goh said : 'For example, if you write an introduction and request a review, the AI will be able to give advice such as how to make a lengthy hook more concise. Students can learn straightaway with timely feedback, instead of waiting a whole week for the teacher to mark an essay.' He has been able to make a small profit so far due to low business costs, but said it is not yet enough to cover his daily living expenses. He does not see himself returning to a corporate job in the near term and is committed to improving The Wise Otter, noting that he has enough savings to last him for the next five to 10 years. 'Even if this fails, I would have the AI skills that will probably be useful in the future.'
Straits Times
7 hours ago
- Straits Times
Man United splashing cash on new strikers adds pressure on Ruben Amorim to deliver
MANCHESTER, England - After their worst season in 51 years last term, the only way is up for Manchester United. Complete with a new £200 million (S$350 million) strike force, coach Ruben Amorim has the backing of fans to bring about lasting change. Now he must deliver. From the start, Amorim has always said, given the choice, he would not have taken on the monumental task of awakening English football's most successful club from its slumber when he did, mid-season. The Portuguese coach insisted he was given a 'now or never' ultimatum before succeeding Erik ten Hag in November 2024, taking an underperforming side to plentiful lows – worst finish, most defeats, fewest points and fewest goals in their Premier League history. Amorim asked supporters to judge him after he had a full pre-season to instil his ideas properly. Three new forwards gives him greater tools to succeed. Such spending comes as a surprise. New co-owner Jim Ratcliffe insisted only in March that the club were so low on cash when his company Ineos bought a minority stake in late 2023 they faced going 'bust by Christmas'. RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko has been confirmed as a United player this weekend and could be flanked for next week's season opener against Arsenal by exciting forwards Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who both have something United attackers of late have lacked – Premier League goalscoring pedigree. As United slumped to an unfathomable 15th last term, the concession of 54 goals was their joint-third worst defensive record in Premier League history. It was their inability to score that proved more damaging, however. They mustered a record-low 44 league strikes, five fewer than in any Premier League season. 'The hardest part of last season was to go to the games and know that we are not going to be competitive,' Amorim told reporters on the club's pre-season tour of the United States. 'Nowadays I'm better, I'm more excited. I also think I learned a lot. We will be a better team. Not just because I truly believe that we can be better, but I truly believe that I will be better at managing this season. 'Now we are in a better place, but we are just beginning. We have to perform. And I really like the pressure. If I have the feeling that before the game we are going to be competitive, we'll be OK. I just don't want to return to that feeling that we are thinking it's not a 50-50 game.' Pull still there Supporters have been buoyed that new signings have not been put off by the fact United will not be competing in any European competition this season for the first time in 11 years. Mbeumo and Sesko especially had plenty of other clubs reportedly interested in them, but the pull of United, despite being without a league title since 2013, remains. 'From the start, I wanted to join this massive club,' Mbeumo said after signing. 'Now I'm here, I'm just really happy. For me, it's the biggest club in the world. The fans are crazy, the stadium is amazing. Every player wants to play here.' More new signings are needed across the team for any major improvement this season, however. Skipper Bruno Fernandes labelled the last US tour performance in a 2-2 draw with Everton as 'lazy' and called on the club to make more additions before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month. Manager Ruben Amorim asked United supporters to judge him after he had a full pre-season to instil his ideas properly. PHOTO: REUTERS Otherwise, their trip across the Atlantic was unanimously positive. With a starting line-up retaining nine of the team that performed so poorly in their Europa League final loss to Tottenham Hotspur, United looked energised and, at times, entertaining in a 4-1 win over Bournemouth, while also beating West Ham to finish unbeaten in their three-match series. Amorim faces some daunting early fixtures, with Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea in their opening five games. Nonetheless, he needs to harness some rare positivity gleaned from scoring some goals over pre-season to at least start setting United back on the right path. REUTERS
Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
Lula and Putin discuss peace in Ukraine before US summit
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva before a military parade on Victory Day, marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. Alexei Nikolsky/Host agency RIA Novosti/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo BRASILIA - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Saturday for about 40 minutes, the Brazilian presidential palace said, adding that Putin shared information about his discussions with the United States and "recent peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine." The leaders also discussed their cooperation in the BRICS group of emerging countries and "discussed the current international political and economic scenario," according to the statement. The conversation with Lula is the latest of a flurry of calls between Putin and foreign leaders in recent days ahead of the Russian president's expected meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump next week. Putin spoke to the leaders of China and India, both also part of the BRICS group of developing nations, and other presidents from Central Asia and Europe on Friday to brief them on his contacts with the United States about the war in Ukraine. Lula has been in a public spat with Trump since the U.S. imposed a 50% tariff on the imports of Brazilian goods, which Trump linked to an alleged "witch hunt" against his ally and Brazil's former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. U.S. imports of some Brazilian products, such as orange juice and aircraft, received a lower rate. Lula told Reuters on Wednesday he planned to call the leaders of the BRICS countries, which also include South Africa, to discuss a joint response to Trump's tariffs on U.S. imports. The Brazilian leader spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Trump has threatened BRICS nations with additional 10% tariffs last month, as the group gathered in a summit in Rio de Janeiro in July. REUTERS
