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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business Standard
United Airlines outage grounds US flights, disrupts India-bound travel
A sweeping technology outage forced United Airlines to ground flights across the US, causing widespread delays and cancellations that affected thousands of passengers — including many from the Indian diaspora flying home for weddings, family visits, or returning to work after summer. The glitch, traced to the airline's aging Unimatic system used for flight dispatch and load planning, brought operations at major hubs to a halt for several hours on Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that United requested a nationwide ground stop, which has since been lifted, but delays were still rippling across the network on Thursday. United called it a 'controllable delay', pledging to cover hotels and related costs where needed, and emphasized that the outage was not cybersecurity-related. 'Safety is our top priority, and we'll work with our customers to get them to their destinations,' the airline said in a statement. FlightAware, a website tracking flight disruptions, reported that about 35 per cent of all the airline's flights were delayed and 7 per cent were cancelled Wednesday. United's travel alert warned of disruptions through the weekend at key US and international airports including Newark, Houston, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Orlando, New York, Honolulu, Guam, London, Frankfurt and Munich. Among those impacted was Ishya K, a young consultant, originally from Houston, and now working in Manhattan, who had flown over the weekend to visit her family. Her evening flight to New York's LaGuardia (LGA) was first delayed for hours and then abruptly cancelled just before midnight. 'There was so much chaos at the airport as United didn't know what was going finally told us around 11 pm that we weren't flying out,' she said. 'I reached home past midnight after hours at the airport, and now I've been rebooked for a late flight today and hope there are no more delays.' Others missed international connections altogether. Michael Tran, who was headed to Japan from Houston via San Francisco, was stranded overnight and unsure whether he'd make it in time for a long-planned trip. For the Indian-American community, peak summer travel collided with deeply personal commitments. Nisha Mehra, a professional, originally from Delhi, missed her flight to India — and with it, the first wedding in her family she would have attended in a decade. 'This was my chance to reconnect with my family in Chandigarh after so many years,' she said, tearing up at the terminal. 'I had my bags packed with gifts for all the cousins. Now I'm hoping I can get there before the last event.' Passengers across the country described hours inside aircraft after landing, waiting for gates to open due to a system-wide standstill. 'The first hour, people were already walking around the cabin because there was nothing to do,' said one passenger. 'Eventually they found a gate, but it still took another 45 minutes to get there.' The FAA said it continues to assist United in resolving the backlog. 'We've offered full support to help address their flight backlog and remain in close contact,' the agency said. United apologised publicly via social media. 'Hey there, we apologise for the travel disruption today,' it said in response to customer complaints. 'Our teams are working to resolve the outage as quickly as possible.' While operations are slowly resuming, United warned that passengers flying in or out of affected cities may continue to face delays.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
United Airlines resolves tech problem that hit more than 1,000 flights, but residual delays likely
A disruption to a system housing United Airlines' flight information that caused more than 1,000 delays has been resolved, but delays continued into Thursday. The impacted system, called Unimatic, houses flight information that is fed to other systems including those that calculate weight and balance and track flight times, according to United. It's not clear what caused the problem, which was resolved late Wednesday. While residual delays were expected, the Chicago-based airline said its team was working to restore normal operations. About 35% of all the airline's flights were delayed and 7% were canceled Wednesday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. By late Thursday morning local Chicago time, 9% of United flights for the day were delayed and 5% were canceled. Around the same time, FlightAware reported 42 cancellations at Chicago O'Hare International Airport — 41 of which were United flights. An alert on the Federal Aviation Administration website Wednesday said all United flights destined for Chicago were halted at their departing airports. Flights to United hubs at Denver, Newark, Houston and San Francisco airports also were affected. United's travel alert page noted flights to or from several U.S. airports could be affected still on Thursday, including in Denver, Newark, Washington, Houston, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Chicago, San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam and some in Europe, such as London, Frankfurt and Munich. It was an improvement from earlier in the day, when the alert page said flights through Sunday might be impacted. 'Safety is our top priority, and we'll work with our customers to get them to their destinations,' an emailed statement from the airline said. 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. United said it was treating it as a controllable delay, meaning it paid customer expenses such as hotels when applicable. In an interview, United Airlines passenger Benjamin Fuentes, who flew from Boston to Houston, told KTRK-TV that they were told they would be waiting for a while after the plane landed. 'The first hour, people were already standing up and just walking around the cabin because there was nothing to do,' he said. 'I got on Netflix.' After about an hour, they were told the system was down nationwide, he said. Eventually, they learned that they found a gate, but it took another 45 minutes before they got there, he said. The FAA said in a statement Thursday that it was aware of the disruption to United operations, noting that delays may continue as the airline recovers. 'We've offered full support to help address their flight backlog and remain in close contact with United,' the FAA said. United Airlines apologized on social media and said in some cases it would pay for hotel and other expenses incurred by travelers because of the delays. 'Hey there, we apologize 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.' Brook and Baumann write for the Associated Press. Associated Press airlines writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed.
Mint
3 days ago
- Mint
United Airlines resolves tech problem that hit more than 1,000 flights, but residual delays likely
A disruption to a system housing United Airlines' flight information that caused more than 1,000 delays has been resolved, but delays continued into Thursday. The impacted system, called Unimatic, houses flight information that is fed to other systems including those that calculate weight and balance and track flight times, according to United. It's not clear what caused the problem, which was resolved late Wednesday. While residual delays were expected, the Chicago-based airline said its team was working to restore normal operations. About 35% of all the airline's flights were delayed and 7% were canceled Wednesday, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. By late Thursday morning local Chicago time, 9% of United flights for the day were delayed and 5% were canceled. Around the same time, FlightAware reported 42 cancellations at Chicago O'Hare International Airport — 41 of which were United flights. An alert on the Federal Aviation Administration website Wednesday said all United flights destined for Chicago were halted at their departing airports. Flights to United hubs at Denver, Newark, Houston and San Francisco airports also were affected. United's travel alert page noted flights to or from several U.S. airports could be affected still on Thursday, including in Denver, Newark, Washington, Houston, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Chicago, San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam and some in Europe, such as London, Frankfurt and Munich. It was an improvement from earlier in the day, when the alert page said flights through Sunday might be impacted. 'Safety is our top priority, and we'll work with our customers to get them to their destinations,' an emailed statement from the airline said. 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. United said it was treating it as a controllable delay, meaning it paid customer expenses such as hotels when applicable. In an interview, United Airlines passenger Benjamin Fuentes, who flew from Boston to Houston, told KTRK-TV that they were told they would be waiting for a while after the plane landed. 'The first hour, people were already standing up and just walking around the cabin because there was nothing to do,' he said. 'I got on Netflix.' After about an hour, they were told the system was down nationwide, he said. Eventually, they learned that they found a gate, but it took another 45 minutes before they got there, he said. The FAA said in a statement Thursday that it was aware of the disruption to United operations, noting that delays may continue as the airline recovers. 'We've offered full support to help address their flight backlog and remain in close contact with United,' the FAA said. United Airlines apologized on social media and said in some cases it would pay for hotel and other expenses incurred by travelers because of the delays. 'Hey there, we apologize 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.' Associated Press airlines writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed.
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Newsweek
United Passenger Burned By Nationwide Tech Glitch Gets Another Surprise: 'Craziest Part'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A United Airlines passenger who had already endured hours on the tarmac and a flight cancellation got another unexpected headache when she tried to retrieve her checked bag. In a new Reddit post titled "For those who got cancelled...", user boston_publicacc recounted being stuck at Newark Liberty International Airport late Wednesday night after United's nationwide technology outage brought flights to a halt. "We were sitting on tarmac until we returned to gate and everyone deplaned," the original poster (OP) wrote. "After [an almost] four hour delay, flight gets cancelled due to no other available crew (original crew timed out). I rebook online to another flight for tomorrow." Deteriorating Situation The situation deteriorated further, she said, when United apparently refused to return passengers' checked luggage that night. "The craziest part to me is that it's midnight and United is refusing to give anyone's checked bag back," she wrote. "The only thing I've been offered is $15 for food." Stock image: Passengers at an airport. Stock image: Passengers at an airport. Rawpixel/istock The tech disruption, which began around 6:12 p.m. ET Wednesday, led to a temporary ground stop at United hubs including Newark, Chicago, Denver and Houston. The issue was traced to the Unimatic system, which distributes crucial flight information such as weight and balance calculations and scheduling updates to other systems. As of late Wednesday night, more than 1,000 United flights—roughly 34% of its schedule—had been delayed, according to Reuters. United said in a statement the issue had been resolved, though, "[w]e expect residual delays [and] our team is working to restore our normal operations." But those reassurances did little to ease the stress for passengers already stranded. In her Reddit post, boston_publicacc asked what recourse passengers have in this situation. "Get a hotel, buy what we can now and in the morning when stores open and pray/hope United reimburses everything?" the OP wrote, adding, "What are we entitled to?" Reddit users responded with advice for making the most of what little was offered. "Take that $15 voucher and use it in an app like Dunkin' (or some other food place). Then it won't expire nearly as fast," one person suggested. "I've done this when I got a food voucher, but wasn't going to get any food. I'll take that $15 anyway!" Another individual offered a broader financial tip: "My recommendation for the future is to pay airfare with a credit card that offers trip delay insurance so you don't sweat having a few hundred dollars in incidentals." Compensation Procedures In response to the system failure, luggage return policies and overnight compensation procedures following the system outage, United confirmed to Newsweek that it was treating the event as a controllable delay, meaning it will reimburse eligible customer expenses like hotels when applicable. "We are working with customers to get them to their destinations after a technology disruption on Wednesday evening," a United spokesperson told Newsweek. "The underlying technology issue has been resolved and, while we expect residual delays, our team is working to restore our normal operations." Still, many travelers like boston_publicacc were left navigating delays, rebookings and missing bags on their own into the early morning hours. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which provided assistance during the incident, reiterated via the social platform X that the issue was limited to United's operations and not related to broader air traffic systems. "We've offered full support to help address their flight backlog and remain in close contact with United," the FAA posted, as cited by Newsweek. As of Thursday morning, FlightAware continued to show extensive delays at United hubs. United said it is working to fully restore operations, but advised travelers to check their flight status and expect possible disruptions. Newsweek has contacted boston_publicacc for comment via Reddit. To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
United Airlines resumes operations, blames tech glitch for grounded flights and stranded passengers
United Airlines faced major disruptions on Wednesday (August 6) after a technology issue forced a temporary ground stop at multiple US airports and caused widespread delays across its network. The issue has since been resolved, the airline confirmed, though residual delays are expected. 'While we expect residual delays, our team is working to restore our normal operations,' United said in a statement late Wednesday. The glitch prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue ground stops for United flights at several of its major hubs, including Newark, Denver, Houston, and Chicago. According to United, the problem stemmed from its Unimatic system, which manages key flight information. This data feeds into other crucial systems, including those responsible for calculating weight and balance and tracking flight times. As of 10:25 p.m. ET Wednesday, flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 1,038 United flights—about 34% of its daily schedule—had been delayed. The FAA acknowledged the tech issue and said it had provided support to help clear the backlog. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that the problem was isolated to United and did not impact the broader air traffic control system.
