Why were United Airlines flights grounded?

United Airlines temporarily grounded all flights departing from the U.S. and Canada late Tuesday night after the carrier requested a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ground stop due to an unspecified technology issue.

The disruption, which lasted about 30 minutes, began just before midnight Central Time. United later confirmed that it had “experienced a brief connectivity issue” but said operations have since returned to normal.

It marked the second time in less than two months that United has had to halt nationwide departures over a technical failure. Back in early August, a similar “technology issue” triggered widespread delays at major airports including Newark, Denver, Houston, Chicago, and San Francisco, with passengers stranded for hours.

The FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center listed the reason for Tuesday’s ground stop as “COMPANY REQUEST / TECHNOLOGY.” The order went into effect between 1:00 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. ET but was canceled around 1:30 a.m.

According to flight-tracking site FlightAware, the incident caused at least 42 delays and four cancellations nationwide between midnight and 4 a.m. ET, with Los Angeles International Airport recording the most disruptions.

A photo from Chicago O’Hare Airport in August highlighted the scale of United’s previous outage, when dozens of flights sat idle on the tarmac as the airline worked to resolve another system-wide issue.

While Tuesday night’s glitch was resolved far more quickly, the back-to-back incidents have raised concerns about the resilience of United’s technology systems and the growing impact of airline IT failures on nationwide travel.

FAQ Section

Q1: Why were United Airlines flights grounded on Tuesday night?
A1: United requested the FAA to issue a ground stop due to a brief connectivity issue in its systems.

Q2: How long were United flights suspended?
A2: The suspension lasted about 30 minutes, from just before midnight Central Time until 1:30 a.m. ET.

Q3: Was this the first time United had such an outage?
A3: No. In August, United suffered a major technology failure that caused widespread delays at major airports including Chicago, Houston, and Newark.

Q4: How many flights were affected by the latest glitch?
A4: According to FlightAware, there were at least 42 delays and 4 cancellations between midnight and 4 a.m. ET, with LAX the hardest hit.

Q5: What reason did the FAA give for the ground stop?
A5: The FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center cited “COMPANY REQUEST / TECHNOLOGY” as the official reason.