An equipment outage holds up United flights, but the airline and FAA say they’re resuming

The FAA says that for a time United crews were unable to contact airline dispatchers through normal means.

Associated Press

September 5, 2023

File photo: A United Airlines plane is pushed from the gate at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Aug. 11, 2023, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

United Airlines departures have resumed after being halted nationwide for a brief time Tuesday because of a technology outage.

Federal officials said that United crews had been unable to contact airline dispatchers through normal means.

“United asked the FAA to pause the airline’s departures nationwide,” the Federal Aviation Administration said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.

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The FAA said the issue was limited to United and its subsidiaries. It announced before 2 p.m. Eastern time that the ground stop on United flights had been lifted.

Before flights resumed, United said in a statement that it and its subsidiaries were “experiencing a systemwide technology issue and are holding all aircraft at their departure airports. Flights that are already airborne are continuing to their destination as planned.”

Shares of Chicago-based United Airlines Holdings Inc. fell on news of the ground stop and were down more than 2% in afternoon trading.

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