Fliers Stuck on Planes After United Computer Glitch

Thousands of United Airlines passengers around the globe are stranded at airports and on planes after another computer outage at the world's largest carrier, at least the third major outage for the Chicago-based airline since June. Passengers are being told by pilots and airport agents that computers are down and they don't know when the system will come back. Some fliers have been waiting nearly two hours to depart.

A United spokesman said the airline was aware of a computer issue affecting some of its flights and was working to resolve it. "Does anyone have a Radio Shack computer or abacus to help United get their system fixed?," tweeted would-be passenger Lewis Franck. United has been struggling with technology problems since March, when it switched to a passenger information computer system that was previously used by Continental, which merged with United in 2010. That system, called "Shares," has needed extensive reworking to make it easier for workers to use. (More United Airlines stories.)