On Wednesday, United Airlines experienced significant disruptions on major routes due to a technology issue, which led to the grounding of flights and subsequent delays that extended into the night. The airline confirmed that all flights headed to Chicago were halted at their respective departure airports, with additional impacts reported at airports in Denver, Newark, Houston, and San Francisco.
In an official statement, United Airlines emphasized their commitment to safety, stating, “Safety is our top priority, and we’ll work with our customers to get them to their destinations.” Later that evening, the airline announced that the underlying technology issue had been resolved and that employees were making efforts to restore normal operations.
The technology problem was associated with a system known as Unimatic, which stores critical flight information used by other operational systems, such as those calculating weight and balance, as well as tracking flight times. United Airlines indicated that the outage lasted for several hours but clarified that it was not connected to recent concerns surrounding airline industry cybersecurity.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also addressed the situation via social media, confirming that the issue was unrelated to the overall air traffic control system, thereby assuaging concerns of a broader systemic failure.
Several travelers found themselves caught in the middle of the disruptions. An Associated Press journalist reported being on a United flight at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport when flight attendants informed them of a “systemwide” problem, resulting in passengers being returned to the terminal. Another traveler, Johan Kotze, was preparing for a trip to Mauritius when he became entangled in the delay, which posed a risk of missing his connecting flights and necessitating rebooking of not just flights but also accommodations and transportation.
Frustrated by the delays, Kotze expressed his dissatisfaction with the experience, stating, “It’s not very nice.” Meanwhile, United Airlines took to social media to apologize for the inconvenience faced by customers who were waiting for updates and sitting for extended periods on the tarmac. In a message on the platform X, the airline wrote, “Hey there, we apologize for the travel disruption today. Our teams are working to resolve the outage as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.”
To further assist affected customers, United Airlines confirmed that it would cover expenses, including hotel accommodations, when applicable. The situation underscored the reliance on technology within the aviation industry and the ripple effects that a single system issue can create across multiple flights and destinations.
