Ground Stop In Effect For About Two Hours Due To Computer Issues

United Airlines flights were grounded worldwide for about two hours on Wednesday morning, affecting about 3,500 flights and causing significant delays at major airports.

The problem was caused by an unspecified "computer system glitch," according to NBC News.

In a statement issued after 0900 CDT Wednesday, United said that they had "experienced a network connectivity issue this morning. We are working to resolve this and apologize to our customers for any inconvenience." The FAA blamed the ground stop on "automation issues."

Regional carriers were the first to start flying again because they are able to perform their own weight and balance checks, according to the airline. Those flights resumed at about 0920 CDT, according to the report.

But elsewhere in the system, there were long lines as some gate agents were forced to write tickets by hand, and passengers in Connecticut without a physical boarding pass were not allowed to check in at Bradley International Airport In Windsor Locks, according to NBC.

NBC Chicago reports that the ground stop lasted about two hours. It is the second time in two months that the airline has experienced computer issues that caused flights to be grounded.

FMI: www.united.com