Long lines formed early Wednesday outside Los Angeles International Airport after United Airlines grounded flights worldwide due to an "automation issue" that grounded flights worldwide.
The airline's computer system was "back up and operating" just before 7:30 a.m., according to LAX officials. The outage was reported at about 5:30 a.m., according to airport officials.
The airline reported 10 delays involving 10 outbound flights at LAX, according to an airport spokesperson. Two inbound flights that were already in the air before the outage, reported at about 5:30 a.m., will land at LAX.
Aerial video showed a line of people early Wednesday outside Terminal 7, home to United Airlines.
"Nothing ever like this, I don't really have words to describe it," said Laura Ponticelli, who was traveling to Montana.
The airline released a statement later Wednesday morning: "We are recovering from a network connectivity issue this morning and restoring regular flight operations. We will have a waiver available at united.com for customers who are able to change their flight plans."
About 3,500 flights were affected, according to NBC News.
"We're traveling with 13 people," said Kim Tauber as she waited at LAX. "We hope our flight was delayed because we have a long time to wait."
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It is the second time in two months that the Chicago carrier has been hit by major technical issues.
United Continental Holdings Inc. had a temporary halt to all takeoffs in the U.S. on June 2 because of what the airline said were computer automation issues. Its stock declined slightly in premarket trading.
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