On Wednesday United Airlines was forced to stop all takeoffs worldwide for two hours due to a computer malfunction.

The breakdown lasted from 1300 to 1500 GMT and affected an unknown number of flights, according to a company spokeswoman.

United Airlines, the world's second largest passenger carrier based in the US, operates more than 3,600 flights a day.

United's breakdown involved the Unimatic computer used to dispatch flights, added the spokeswoman.

“We were experiencing a computer outage and now our computers are back up,” she said. “Right now we're working hard to resume our operations.”

Is still unclear how long it will take for the company to get back to its normal operational status. United’s spokeswoman recommended passengers check www.united.com for their flight status before leaving for the airport.