By: Richard L. Smith
Newark Liberty International Airport experienced widespread disruption on Wednesday, August 6, after a nationwide system outage forced United Airlines to ground all departing flights. 
The glitch affected United’s internal Unimatic system, which manages critical flight data, including weight and balance information necessary for takeoff.
Multiple flights at Newark were delayed or held on the tarmac, while arriving aircraft had no available gates.
Passengers reported extended waits, both in terminals and on board planes. Although United restored system functionality within hours, officials warned that delays and schedule adjustments could persist into the weekend as operations recover.
The outage impacted roughly 1,100 flights nationwide, nearly 35% of United’s daily operations. According to FlightAware, over 1,000 United flights were delayed by late Wednesday evening.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that United requested a nationwide ground stop and that no cyberattack was suspected.
United has labeled the incident a controllable delay and is offering hotel accommodations and fee waivers for affected travelers through August 10. 
The airline is working with the FAA to resolve scheduling backlogs, but travelers should continue checking for updates.