UPDATE: United Flights Resume

A nationwide shutdown of United Airlines' computer reservation system has ended, but there are still flight delays at San Francisco International Airport this afternoon.

United notified the airport about the shutdown around 1:30 p.m., and the system started back up at about 2:50 p.m., airport spokesman Mike McCarron said.

The shutdown created a backlog of flights at the airport. McCarron did not know how many flights had been affected but said it could take some time before things get back on schedule.

"It's going to be slow for a couple of hours," McCarron said. During the shutdown, McCarron said, the airport had "a lobby full of people" who could who could not check in and "planes at the gate and planes coming that we don't have gates for."

United Airlines is the airport's largest carrier, with 250 to 300 flights per day, amounting to about 40 percent of flights at the airport. McCarron said a prolonged computer shutdown would have meant a severe backup of both departing and arriving flights.

At Mineta San Jose International Airport, a United flight that was supposed to take off at 1:40 p.m. started boarding passengers at 2:30 p.m., airport spokeswoman Vickie Day said. The first seven of United's 10 daily flights from the San Jose airport took off before the shutdown began, Day said.

--Bay City News

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