Ground Stoppage Lifted For All U.S. United Airlines Flights
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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - United Airlines has apparently fixed their computer issues and is slowly coming back online.
Around 8 a.m.the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that all U.S. United Airlines flights had been grounded. Less then two hours later the airline began checking in passengers and boarding flights.
Officials at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport confirmed the system is back online and said passengers are "being processed at Terminal E ticket counters and checkpoints." Airport says there are approximately 30 United flights today and that travelers should expect delays.
The problem with the company computer system affected not only airports here in North Texas, but all United facilities at all U.S. airports.
Just before 8:30 a.m. United issued a statement that said, "We experienced a network connectivity issue this morning. We are working to resolve this and apologize to our customers for any inconvenience."
At the peak of the stoppage there were some 3,500 flights being affected.
A news crew caught up with a group of North Texans, headed to London from DFW Airport, who said they were concerned when first hearing about the technical glitch. Passenger Makayla Ostrom said, "This is my first international trip flying over the ocean. It's like no one can help us because we are like thosuands of feet high and if we fall we are in the water."
But United passenger Michelle Strawbridge tried to stay optimistic. "We'll get there when we get there. I'm excited. We've been waiting for this... a long time to go."
The ground stop was extended for United piloted and operated flights. According to the FAA, United Airlines sub-carriers were released from the ground stop earlier.
More than 100 United flights were grounded last month because of "automation issues." That time, the delays lasted for about an hour, but affected nearly 10-percent of the airline's morning schedule.
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