United Airlines' Technical Glitch Rectified; Persisting Flight Delays Remain
United Airlines faced a significant disruption on Wednesday, 7th August 2025, as a technology issue caused over 1,000 flight delays and dozens of cancellations. The root cause was an outage of their weight and balance computer system, a critical operational tool, which resulted in a temporary ground stop of United’s mainline flights across major U.S. airports.
The affected airports included Chicago O'Hare, Newark, Denver, Houston Bush Intercontinental, and San Francisco International. The disruption began shortly after 6 p.m. ET, forcing United to hold all mainline flights at their departure airports. The first ground stops were requested by United at around 7:42 p.m. ET.
The technology issue was not related to cyberattacks or broader air traffic control system issues but was specific to United's operational technology. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) monitored the situation and offered support to manage the flight backlog.
The outage affected not only United Airlines but also planes operated by its subsidiary Horizon Air. Alaska Airlines acknowledged that it was "experiencing an IT outage that's impacting our operations."
The issue was resolved within a few hours, and United later notified that they had resolved the technology issues affecting flights. However, residual delays and cancellations continued as the airline worked to normalize operations. Some 157 United flights were canceled, and the residual impact of the ground stop was still being felt after midnight, as 70 flights scheduled for Thursday had been canceled, while 79 had been delayed.
United is treating all delays linked to the technology issue as preventable, meaning it will cover expenses incurred by affected passengers like hotels if needed. The CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby, briefed Transport Secretary Sean Duffy about the issue, which was specific to United's operations.
This tech outage impacting United's flights comes just two weeks after Alaska Airlines faced a similar issue. The FAA issued a statement acknowledging that United experienced a technology issue disrupting their operations.
By late Wednesday night, United's website notified that they had resolved the technology issues affecting flights. The airline is now working diligently to restore normal operations and minimize further inconvenience to its passengers.
The technology issue that occurred on United Airlines on 7th August 2025 affected not only their flights but also those operated by their subsidiary Horizon Air, causing a significant disruption within the transportation industry. The finance sector was also impacted as the disruption resulted in preventable delays and cancellations, potentially causing additional expenses for affected passengers. This incident highlights the critical role technology plays in airline operations, and the recent pattern of technology issues within the airline industry warrants attention from both the industry and the finance sector.
