United technical glitch slows system, grounds planes
A United Airlines software upgrade slowed computer systems and prompted the carrier to ground planes for more than an hour Tuesday.
United officials said they were still investigating what happened but confirmed it was not related to a cybersecurity issue.
The ground stop alert came at 11:33 a.m., Federal Aviation Administration records showed.
"Earlier today a software update caused a widespread slowdown in United's technology systems," United said in a statement Tuesday.
"We briefly held aircraft at their destination airports and resumed normal operations around 12:45 p.m. Our teams are working to get customers to their destinations as soon as possible."
Flights that were airborne when the glitch occurred continued to their destinations, United said, adding it took a little over an hour to correct the issue.
The software hiccup was short-lived, but it was painful for many passengers, DePaul University transportation professor Joseph Schwieterman said.
"The emotional roller coaster that travelers experience during a stoppage is significant," he said. "Almost everyone starts thinking of painful scenarios of becoming stranded or missing a connection. No matter how much redundancy that airlines try to build into their operating systems, these stoppages stubbornly persist."
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a tweet Tuesday that the FAA was "currently receiving more information about the cause and scope of the issue, and the Department of Transportation will make sure (United) meets its obligations to affected passengers." Information on what airlines are required to do for passengers when delays occur is available at transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-customer-service-dashboard.
Nearly 500 United and United Express daily flights depart from O'Hare International Airport to Europe, Asia, Mexico, Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada as well as multiple domestic destinations, according to the carrier's website.
"The vastness of a global airline like United makes even an hourlong stoppage a very big deal," said Schwieterman, director of DePaul's Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development.
"Years ago, stoppages were mostly limited to a handful of airports or a single hub. Now, they usually affect flights around the world - it's a real problem."