United Airlines lifts brief nationwide ground stop

'Systemwide technology issue' affected United flights in the US and Canada

It is currently unclear the extent of the impact of the ground stop and how many delays it may have caused. Bloomberg

United Airlines on Tuesday announced that it had requested a nationwide ground stop on departing flights in the US due to a technical issue, but it was lifted shortly afterwards.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in an advisory that the airline had asked for the ground stop due to it being “unable to contact their dispatch through normal means”.

“We have identified a fix for the technology issue and flights have resumed,” United Airlines posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

It is currently unclear the extent of the impact of the ground stop and the number of delays it may have caused.

The brief ground stop is likely to prove a challenge for those travelling on Tuesday, the day after a long holiday weekend in the US.

“We’re working with impacted customers to help them reach their destinations as soon as possible,” it said on X.

Earlier, United Airlines said the issue was a “systemwide technology issue”.

We are 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. We will share more information as it becomes available. Thank you for your patience as we…

— United Airlines (@united) September 5, 2023

Updated: September 05, 2023, 6:12 PM