United Airlines Overcomes Major Technological Disruption
United Airlines successfully resumed its normal operations on Thursday, following a significant computer system outage that grounded hundreds of flights across the country on Wednesday evening. The technological disruption, which commenced at 6:12 p.m. ET, impacted the airline’s weight and balance computer system, known as “Unimatic”. This resulted in ground stops at major hubs including Chicago, Denver, Newark, Houston, and San Francisco.
FlightAware reports that the outage led to more than 1,000 flights being delayed and dozens being cancelled, leaving passengers stranded at gates and on tarmacs for extended periods. “The underlying technology issue has been resolved, and while we expect residual delays, our team is working tirelessly to restore our normal operations“, a United spokesperson confirmed.
The outage, which was unrelated to any cybersecurity concerns, specifically affected systems responsible for calculating aircraft weight, balance, and flight times. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that the issue was confined to United’s operations and did not impact the broader air traffic control system. United is providing meals and hotel accommodations for affected customers.
Source: CNN