A nationwide ground stop has been lifted after American Airlines grounded its flights for around an hour across the US on Christmas Eve amid one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
The Federal Aviation Administration told The Independent that “American Airlines reported a technical issue this morning and requested a nationwide ground stop. The ground stop has now been lifted.”
American Airlines said in a statement at 8.48am ET: “A vendor technology issue briefly affected flights this morning. That issue has been resolved and flights have resumed.
“We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this morning. It’s all hands on deck as our team is working diligently to get customers where they need to go as quickly as possible.”
The technology issue impacted systems needed to release flights, causing a ground stop that lasted approximately one hour.
“Expect some delays throughout the day but [we’re] working to mitigate those and avoid cancels,” airline spokeswoman Sarah Jantz added. “We have a smaller schedule today and have the staffing to support the quick recovery.”
The airline urges customers to find the latest information on their flight using its app or its website.
The groundstop was issued at 6.49am ET Tuesday, 24 December before it was cancelled at 7.50am ET, Axios reports.
The airline began boarding flights again at around 8am ET, an airline spokeswoman told CNN.
Before the stop was lifted, American Airlines said in a statement Tuesday morning that “a technical issue is affecting American flights this morning.
“Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
The airline wrote on X in response to one passenger that it was “currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights.
“Your safety is our utmost priority, once this is rectified, we’ll have you safely on your way to your destination.
“An estimated timeframe has not been provided, but they’re trying to fix it in the shortest possible time,” it added.
