United Airlines flights across the United States experienced delays on Saturday, July 25, 2026, after a technology outage disrupted the airline’s reservation system.
Operational Impact at Major Airports
The outage affected contact centers and check-in procedures, causing delays for flights departing from several major airports, including Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Passengers reported issues with boarding, baggage checks, and ticket processing. Flights already in the air or those that had pushed back from the gate were not affected by the disruption.
Outage Timeline and Airline Response
According to Down Detector, reports of the outage began surfacing before 7:40 a.m. Eastern Daylight
Time, with over 430 reports recorded by 8:23 a.m. United Airlines confirmed the issue has been resolved and that operations are returning to normal. A spokesperson stated, “Our teams are getting our operations back to normal after a technology outage affected contact centers and check-in processes earlier today.” The airline urged travelers to check flight status using the United app ahead of travel.
Cause and Historical Context
The disruption originated from a failure within United’s reservation system, limiting the airline’s ability to process customer tickets and manage check-ins on the ground. This incident follows a similar large-scale technology outage experienced two years earlier related
to a CrowdStrike update, which previously caused thousands of flight cancellations and communication issues between pilots and ground services.
United Airlines continues to work on restoring full service functionality and advises customers to rely on the United app for the latest updates on their flights.
