Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Last month, IT issues caused a nationwide ground stop at United, resulting in numerous flight delays and cancellations. Unfortunately it looks like “the system” has decided to strike yet again, although the issue isn’t nearly as severe this time around.In a call with United this morning, an airline representative clarified that the issue is specifically affecting the creation of flight plans, and has resulted in a relatively small number of delays (but no cancellations). The issue is systemwide, however there are no outages or ground stops to report. United is working as quickly as it can to resolve the issue, but there’s no estimate to provide.Because latency is to blame rather than downtime, flights continue to operate, though delays (and perhaps even some cancellations) are inevitable. With a big winter storm on its way to the Northeast, the timing’s less than ideal here, given that many passengers are likely changing their plans to get ahead of the weather.United has yet to publish a fee waiver to cover changes related to today’s issues, but that’ll likely come later in the day. If your flight has already been canceled or delayed, you can call UA now to request reaccommodation. Also, note that while the airline won’t provide hotels or meal vouchers when delays are caused by weather, you are entitled to compensation when flights are impacted by IT issues, as they are today.As always, be sure to check your flight status before you head to the airport.
