United Airlines resumes flights delayed by computer glitch

[WASHINGTON] United Airlines said on Wednesday it was restoring operations after all its flights were grounded for about two hours due to computer problems.

Earlier, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all of United's flights following a systemwide computer glitch, which was resolved, the agency said. The grounding order began at 8am EDT (8pm Singapore time) and ended at 9.47 am.

About 260 flights were delayed, or 12 per cent of all United flights, according to website FlightAware, while seven flights canceled.

United in a statement said "We are recovering from a network connectivity issue this morning and restoring regular flight operations." United said it would rebook flights for affected passengers without charge.

No additional details were available on what caused the glitch.

Passengers struggled to cope with the travel headaches.

"We just got here and are astounded that it's not packed,"said Diane Menditto, 66, a retired teacher from Hackensack, New Jersey, on the United Airlines check-in line at Newark Liberty International Airport. She said she and her sister-in-law were worried about making their connecting flight en route to Calgary, Alberta in Canada. "The only thing I would wonder is, now that we're here and things are running smoothly, if we'll actually get out on time," Ms Menditto said.

United flights were also grounded on June 2 due to"automation issues." United Continental Holdings Inc shares fell as much as 2.5 per cent to US$52.96 and were last off nearly 2 per cent to US$53.29.

REUTERS