United Airlines has returned to normal operations Wednesday following a nationwide halt that lasted a little over an hour on Tuesday, 05SEP, as confirmed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The FAA reported on X (formerly known as Twitter), "United asked the FAA to pause the airline's departures nationwide."
United Airlines provided clarification, stating, "Due to a software update earlier today, there was a significant delay in our tech systems. As a result, we momentarily held planes at their departing airports."
During this brief interruption, flights that were already in the air remained unaffected. While United is investigating the precise cause of the technical slowdown, there is no indication of a cybersecurity issue.
ABC News said, "The ground stop delayed 211 flights nationwide."
Federal authorities disclosed that United's teams faced difficulties communicating with their dispatchers through the usual channels. The FAA emphasized that this issue was unique to United and its affiliated companies, and the nationwide halt on United's flights was lifted before 2 p.m. Eastern time.
CTV News reported that the announcement of this temporary pause had a notable impact on the stock value of Chicago-based United Airlines Holdings Inc., which experienced a decline of over 2% during midday trading.