United flights resume after glitch grounds planes nationwide
CHICAGO (WLS) -- United Airlines' domestic departures were halted Wednesday morning for about two hours after the airline experienced a computer glitch.
The ground stop began at 7 a.m. CT and was lifted just after 9 a.m., according to an FAA advisory. The ground stop was lifted for sub carriers - or regional airlines - around 8:15 a.m., and all other flights resumed just before 9 a.m.
United says technicians fixed what they call a "router issue," allowing the nation's second largest airline to restore normal service.
"I'll probably have to change my connecting flight. But it'll be fine. Luckily I'm flying home so my parents can pick me up from the airport if that has to happen," Alanna Kjoller said. "I've had a lot of airplane issues in the past. I've kind of just accepted that this is how it's going to be."
The glitch caused about 800 delays and 60 flights were canceled. Delays could continue throughout the day, according to the O'Hare International Airport official Twitter feed.
United released a statement: We are recovering from a network connectivity issue this morning and restoring regular flight operations. We will have a waiver available at united.com for customers who are able to change their flight plans.
United also posted an apology on its Facebook page Wednesday afternoon.
As lines grew Wednesday morning, O'Hare travelers scrambled to make other arrangements or wait it out.
"It's unbelievable how much we rely on the computers. When we arrived here, this was wall-to-wall people because there was no way to process. As soon as the computers came on, look at it now," David Stone said.
It is the second time in two months that United Airlines has been hit by major technical issues.
The Chicago company had halted all takeoffs in the U.S. on June 2 due to what the airline described as computer automation issues.
United also suffered a series of computer problems in 2012 after switching to a passenger information computer system previously used by merger partner Continental Airlines.
In each case, hundreds of flights were delayed. A number of high-paying business travelers defected to other airlines and revenue dropped.
"We don't know everything behind this morning's issues yet, but today's incident underscores the sense that something is very wrong at United," said Gary Leff, co-founder of frequent-flier website MilePoint.
Shares of Continental Holdings Inc. declined 76 cents to $53.55 in early morning trading.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
