On Wednesday evening, United Airlines experienced a critical technical system failure, leading to the suspension of mainline flights at major airports across the United States.
A spokesperson for United Airlines stated in a press release, “Due to technical issues, we have temporarily suspended the departure of mainline flights from the airports. More flights are expected to be delayed tonight while we address the related problems. Safety is always our top priority, and we will assist passengers in reaching their destinations smoothly.”
Following the meeting, the airline company mentioned, “The fundamental technical issues have been resolved. Although we anticipate some delays, we are actively working to restore normal operations.”
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, as of 8:30 PM Eastern Time, approximately 16% of United Airlines flights were delayed, with a few flights being canceled. The grounded flights included Boeing 737, 757, 767, 777, 787 models, as well as Airbus A319 and A320 models.
Airports in Chicago, Denver, Newark, Houston, and San Francisco were all affected according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system.
Passenger Angela Jeffers, who was on a flight from Nashville, Tennessee to Denver, stated that her flight was delayed by two hours, with the captain informing passengers of a system malfunction.
Jeffers recalled the captain’s announcement to passengers: “We are missing some essential data required for takeoff, so we are unable to depart, and currently cannot estimate when we will be able to take off.” Passengers were subsequently allowed to disembark the plane, but no further information was provided regarding refunds or the rescheduled departure time.
(Acknowledgment: This article referenced reports from CNN and Fox News)