United Airlines halts departures on technology outage

United Airlines briefly halted plane departures Tuesday due to a "systemwide technology issue" before fixing the problem and lifting the ground stop.

The big US carrier told AFP in a 1730 GMT email that it was holding all aircraft at their departure airports, while airborne flights would continue to their destination.

Notices on the Federal Aviation Administration cited an "equipment outage" behind the ground stop order.

But United said around 1800 GMT that the ground stop order had been lifted.

"We have identified a fix for the technology issue and flights have resumed," United said on X, the former Twitter platform. "We're working with impacted customers to help them reach their destinations as soon as possible."

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was asked by United to pause departures nationwide. The first announcement was posted to the FAA page at 1633 GMT.