Overview

• The FAA lifted a nationwide ground stop late Wednesday once United’s engineers fixed the malfunction in its weight and balance computer system.
• Mainline departures had been halted at key hubs including Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Houston Bush Intercontinental, Newark Liberty and San Francisco International.
• Flights already airborne and United Express regional services were unaffected; more than 800 mainline departures were delayed and dozens canceled into early Thursday.
• United has issued travel waivers, expanded rebooking support and deployed extra crews to clear an extensive operational backlog.
• The outage underscores growing concerns over airlines’ reliance on complex digital systems and is likely to prompt heightened FAA scrutiny of IT infrastructure.