United Airlines said Tuesday that it has fixed a technical fault that had led it to suspend worldwide departures, briefly crippling one of America's largest carriers on a busy travel day.
According to federal authorities, United crews were unable to contact airline dispatchers through conventional channels.
"United asked the FAA to pause the airline's departures nationwide," the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on X,the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The FAA stated that the issue was limited to United and its subsidiaries. The FAA released a bulletin about United's ground halt shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern time, and flights resumed shortly after.
“We have identified a fix for the technology issue and flights have resumed,” United clarified in a statement. “We’re working with impacted customers to help them reach their destinations as soon as possible.”
The airline had previously stated that it was "experiencing a systemwide technology issue" that was causing all departing planes to be delayed. Flights that were already in the air at the time of the technical failure continued to their destinations.
According to data from tracking firm FlightAware, by mid-afternoon Tuesday on the East Coast, United had only cancelled seven flights, a far cry from its average of approximately 16 per day over the busy Labour Day weekend.
On a day when many Christmas travellers were scheduled to go home, more than 300 United flights — or 12% of the airline's schedule, significantly more than rivals American, Delta, and Southwest — were delayed.
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that the FAA was "receiving more information about the cause and scope of the issue, and DOT will make sure UA meets its obligations to affected passengers." Buttigieg has criticised airlines for flight delays and other problems over the past year.
The FAA is part of the Department of Transportation. United Airlines Holdings Inc. shares plummeted nearly 3% in afternoon trading on news of the ground stop.
A malfunction in National Air Traffic Services’ (NATS) air traffic control system disrupted a lot of European flights in 2014, while a radar display glitch resulted in multiple flight cancellations in 2019.
The mayhem that erupted in airports was reminiscent of last summer, when travellers were left detained in British airports for hours at a time. It was the first summer following the COVID-19 lockdowns, and rising demand was met with a manpower shortage, causing many airports around Europe to fail.
According to the New York Times, the number of flights exiting the United Kingdom over the holiday weekend this year is expected to be 10% more than the same time last year—that's 83% higher than in 2021.