Clear for takeoff at Pensacola International Airport


  • July 8, 2015
  • /   Reggie Dogan
  • /   economy

Flights from Pensacola International Airport to Houston and Chicago remained mostly on schedule Wednesday, July 8, after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded United Airlines due to computer issues.

United Airlines has five flights per day to Houston and one to Chicago from the Pensacola International Airport, said city spokesman Vernon Stewart.

United Airlines has resumed flights and all flights are on schedule, with the exception of a 15-minute day in a late Wednesday morning Houston arrival, Stewart said.

United Airlines restored operations after all its flights were grounded for about two hours due to computer problems.

Earlier, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all of United's flights following a systemwide computer glitch, which was resolved, the agency said. The grounding order began at 7 a.m. and ended at 8:47 a.m.

About 260 flights were delayed, or 12 percent of all United flights, according to website FlightAware, while seven flights canceled.

United in a statement said: "We are recovering from a network connectivity issue this morning and restoring regular flight operations."

United said it would rebook flights for affected passengers without charge.

No additional details were available on what caused the glitch.

Passengers struggled to cope with the travel headaches.

"We just got here and are astounded that it's not packed," said Diane Menditto, 66, a retired teacher from Hackensack, New Jersey, on the United Airlines check-in line at Newark Liberty International Airport. She said she and her sister-in-law were worried about making their connecting flight en route to Calgary, Alberta in Canada.

"The only thing I would wonder is, now that we're here and things are running smoothly, if we'll actually get out on time," Menditto said.

United flights were also grounded on June 2 due to "automation issues." “There will most likely be a ripple effect throughout United today,” Stewart said. “But everything is going as scheduled.

Reuters Service contributed to this report

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