United Airlines passengers experience delays at Chicago O'Hare

United Airlines passengers flying out of Chicago O’Hare should hunker down and get ready for a long wait (estimated at 2-3 hours). The computer systems that assist with easy check-in are down, forcing all passengers to check-in the old fashioned way …manually. Reports say that the line is 2,000 people long and that’s with many flights already being canceled. With the Fourth of July Holiday here, I’m sure this is not what United customers wanted, but United has issued a travel waiver. United suggests all passengers check-in online before heading to the airport. Click here to go to United’s information page.

This problem brings to light some tips all travelers should remember before heading off to the airport:

• Call the airline before you leave the house to check the status of your flight. There are also many online tools you can use such as Flightstats.com to check the airport & airline status. 
• Arrive at the airport with plenty of time to check-in and handle any unforeseen issues. 
• Be flexible -- this is a hard one! But plans change, the weather changes, we all know this – be ready with a back up plan and a great attitude and your travel experiences will improve.  

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Shanna Quinn is a Galavanting contributing editor and based in Chicago, IL. She likes lattes, going barefoot, when public transit is on time (not that it happens...ever) and of course traveling!

Update on Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 11:26AM by Shanna Quinn

@UnitedAirlines just tweeted "Computers fixed, flights are improving though some delays continue. Expect to have normal operations this afternoon. Apologies 2 all."

Update on Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 2:36PM by Shanna Quinn

@UnitedAirlines posted another tweet at 2:27 p.m. central time  " About 100 ORD flights canceled from outage today. Appreciate your patience & understanding if you had to wait longer than usual for us."