United Airlines flights in Denver and nationwide were briefly grounded today because of a global problem with the airline’s computer system, according to Denver International Airport.
The problem temporarily impacted at least 35 flights that were trying to land at the airport, spokesperson Stephanie Figueroa said.
The technology problem was limited to United and its subsidiaries, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, and grounded United flights for less than an hour. Normal operations resumed at 11:45 a.m., according to the airline.
United Airlines attributed the problem to a software update that caused a widespread slowdown in its systems, the company said in a statement.
United is investigating the cause of the problem, but it was not related to cybersecurity and did not impact any aircraft in flight, according to the airline.
DIA reported 214 delays and two canceled flights as of 3:30 p.m., according to FlightAware. Of those, United Airlines had 92 delays and one cancellation. SkyWest, which operates flights for United and other airlines, reported 49 delays.
By late afternoon Tuesday on the East Coast, United had canceled only seven flights, well below its average of about 16 per day over the busy Labor Day weekend, according to figures from FlightAware.
More than 350 United flights were delayed nationwide— 13% of the carrier’s schedule, far more than rivals American, Delta and Southwest — on a day that many holiday vacationers were expected to fly home.
Southwest Airlines had a similar outage in April that grounded all departing flights for about an hour and caused more than 2,000 flights to be late.
The FAA caused all U.S. departures to be halted briefly in January when a system used to alert pilots to safety hazards failed. The agency blamed a contractor that it said accidentally deleted files while synchronizing the alert system and its backup.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has criticized airlines for flight problems and other issues over the past year, posted Tuesday that the FAA was “receiving more information about the cause and scope of the issue, and DOT will make sure (United) meets its obligations to affected passengers.”
The FAA is part of Buttigieg’s Department of Transportation.
Shares of Chicago-based United Airlines Holdings Inc. fell on news of the ground stop and closed down 2.5%.
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