United Airlines briefly grounds flights nationwide due to computer issue

United Airlines briefly halted all of its departures from the Southland and across the country Tuesday due to a “systemwide technology issue,” but while flights resumed after about 30 minutes, the pause could lead to lingering delays throughout the day.

The nationwide “ground stop” was issued at the airline’s request around 10:30 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The stop means all departing flights were held on the ground pending the resolution of the issue.

United Airlines posted on social media that it was “experiencing a systemwide technology issue” that prompted a pause to all departing flights. Flights that were already in the air continued normally.

The ground stop was lifted about a half-hour later.

“We have identified a fix for the technology issue and flights have resumed,” the airline posted around 11 a.m. “We’re working with impacted customers to help them reach their destinations as soon as possible.”

It was unclear exactly how many flights were impacted locally and nationally. Although brief, the pause in departures was likely to impact flight schedules for much of the day.