From the Daily Mail: United Airlines was forced to issue an urgent ground stop across its entire mainline fleet on Thursday night after a fire alarm sounded at its headquarters.
The move came just days after a similar Alaska Airlines ground stop caused hours-long delays for travelers across the United States.
Passengers who were already in the air at the time of the ground stop were warned to ‘expect some airborne holding due to excessive demand.’
The ground stop was lifted after about an hour, and a United spokesperson said: ‘A fire alarm sounded at our operations center, which caused employees to move to our nearby backup facility and resulted in a brief nationwide ground stop of United aircraft.
The report explains that United’s entire fleet of over 1,000 planes was temporarily placed on hold during the ordeal.
ABC producer Jeffrey Cook was one of the many United passengers affected by the ground stop.
“United Airlines pilot on my flight just said a fire alarm at one of their operation centers has forced a world wide ground stop for the airline,” Cook wrote on X.
United Airlines pilot on my flight just said a fire alarm at one of their operation centers has forced a world wide ground stop for the airline.
— Jeffrey Cook (@JeffreyCook) July 24, 2025
Unhappy fliers were voicing their frustrations on social media, and the airlines was trying to smooth things over with generic responses:
Due to a previous fire alarm at our operations center, flights may be temporarily delayed. Please use the United app for the most up-to-date flight information, and we hope to get you on your way shortly.
— United Airlines (@united) July 25, 2025
We sincerely apologize for the delay and understand how upsetting this experience must have been. It’s certainly not the level of service we strive to provide. When you have a chance, could you DM us the confirmation number and the email address linked to your booking so we can… https://t.co/Y6hG6u2Kjj
— United Airlines (@united) July 25, 2025
Hi Nathan. We’re sorry to hear this. Please send us a DM with your confirmation number so we can look into this. https://t.co/Y6hG6u2Kjj
— United Airlines (@united) July 25, 2025
Hi there, Lance. We’re sorry to hear this. Please have them reach out to us via DM directly so we can help look into this for them.
— United Airlines (@united) July 25, 2025
READ MORE from the Daily Mail.
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