Airline Stocks Unbothered by Ground Stop Delays: UAL Up 5%

A failed telecom circuit at a single Philadelphia air-traffic facility shut down every major airport in the New York City area for hours on Monday, snarling more than 1,000 flights as 130 world leaders flew in for the United Nations General Assembly, according to Reuters. 

Equity investors treated the whole episode as noise, choosing lower oil prices as a positive catalyst for the sector instead. 

• UAL stock closed higher. See the chart and price action here.

The Move

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) — whose Newark, New Jersey, hub took the brunt of it — rose 5.18% to $114.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) added 3.77% to $82.62, American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) gained 4.71% to $13.57 and Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) climbed 1.60% to $41.63. The U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE:JETS) advanced 2.75% to $29, per Benzinga Pro data.

WTI Crude oil fell below $95.5 a barrel on Monday, extending losses for a fourth session after President Donald Trump indicated he was open to diplomacy with Iran. 

The Bigger Chart

Monday’s pop lands inside a much weaker three-month tape. Airline stocks peaked in late June and have been bleeding since the U.S.-Iran conflict began and oil prices skyrocketed.

United sits 16% below its $136.11 June 26 close. Southwest is down 19.8% from $51.91, American is 24.3% off and the JETS ETF sits 12.9% below $33.28. Delta has held up best, 10.7% under its summer high.

Zoom out further and the year splits the group. Delta is up 19.6% in 2026 and 38.3% over 12 months, rewarded for premium-cabin and loyalty revenue that carries higher margins. 

Southwest has gained 28% on a one-year basis but is flat year-to-date, up 0.8%, after its early-2026 spike to the mid-$50s unwound. 

United has managed just 1.2% year-to-date, and American remains the laggard down 12.3% since January, weighed by leverage and thinner domestic yields.

Why the Outage Didn’t Matter

Ground stops shift revenue rather than erase it. Passengers get rebooked, fuel burn falls while aircraft wait and the Federal Aviation Administration owns the failure, not the carriers.

Roughly 250 flights in and out of Newark were delayed and 67 inbound flights diverted Monday afternoon, CNBC reported, with United waiving change fees. Maximum delays at Newark and Philadelphia ran close to four hours, per Reuters. 

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