United Airlines Flights Temporarily Grounded Nationwide Over 'Automation Issues,' FAA Says

United Airlines Flights Temporarily Grounded Nationwide Over 'Automation Issues,' FAA Says

NEW YORK (AP) — United Airlines flights were temporarily halted nationwide this morning after the FAA said a computer glitch -- something it called "automation issues” -- that forced planes to be grounded.

A White House spokesman said President Barack Obama was briefed on the glitch and that it appeared unrelated to an outage hours later at the New York Stock Exchange.

"There is no indication at this point either that there is malicious activity involved," said the spokesman, Josh Earnest.

A United spokeswoman confirmed that the glitch was caused by an internal technology issue and not an outside threat.

Spokeswoman Jennifer Dohm said that a router problem reduced "network connectivity" for several software applications. "We fixed the router issue, which is enabling us to restore normal functions," she said around midday.

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a ground-stop order after nearly two hours, allowing United planes to fly again.

United said more than 800 flights were delayed and about 60 were canceled because of the technology problem. It said that delays could linger throughout the day.

United, the nation's second-biggest airline, has suffered similar technology problems before, also leading to mass delays and cancellations.

The airline briefly halted all takeoffs in the U.S. on June 2 because of a problem in its flight-dispatching system. United said then that about 150 flights were affected.

The FAA’s Air traffic Control System Command Center reported that planes were grounded at all airports, but according to United Airlines, the issue did not "directly affect" any flights already in the air.

“We experienced a network connectivity issue this morning. We are working to resolve this and apologize to our customers for any inconvenience,” United said in a statement.

United is one of the world's largest airlines with nine hubs in the United States. The company says it is providing a waiver for customers who were unable to change their flight plans.

PHOTO: Travelers check-in at a United Airlines counter at Hartsfield ?Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta.

After Wednesday's problems, United apologized to customers and said they could change travel plans without being charged the usual $200 reservation-change fee. In some cases, the airline said it would also waive any difference in fare for the rescheduled trip.

"How could a router bring down one of the world's largest airlines?" asked Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, who said it appeared that United lacked enough redundancy in its technology systems.

Still, Harteveldt said he doubted that United would lose many business-travel customers because technology hiccups could happen to any carrier.

Shares of Chicago-based United Continental Holdings Inc. fell $1.43, or 2.6 percent, to $52.88 in afternoon trading.

The airline and law enforcement official both confirmed that the network connectivity issue was not due to hacking or a cyber-attack.

United officials say an issue with a router degraded network connectivity, impacting the company's ability to communicate data to aircraft on the ground.