United Airlines says this is what caused nationwide stoppage

United Airlines
Photo credit Getty Images

United Airlines is revealing what caused a nationwide stoppage on Tuesday, impacting hundreds of flights on a busy travel day coming out of the long Labor Day weekend.

The airline initially said a "systemwide technology issue" was responsible for grounding flights for more than an hour.

United later elaborated to say that a software update triggered a glitch, forcing it to request that the FAA halt all of its departures across the country, according to the Associated Press.

The airline added that it was not a cybersecurity issue.

The pause was put in place around 1 p.m. ET and was lifted shortly before 2 p.m. after the issue was resolved.

More than 350 United flights were delayed, and seven were canceled.

The brief outage drew responses from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Eric Swalwell -- who was on a United flight himself when the delays were announced.

Buttigieg said his department will "make sure" United Airlines meets its obligations to passengers affected by the ground stop.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images