A “technical issue” with a vendor forced the grounding of all American Airlines flights earlier this morning. While normal operations have resumed, thousands of travelers’ Christmas Eve plans were disrupted.
Travelers Face Over 600 Delayed American Airlines Flights On Christmas Eve After Brief Nationwide Ground Stop Blamed On Technical Glitch
At around 7:00 am ET, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all American Airlines flights (at the request of the carrier). The ground stop lasted for exactly one hour, lifting just before 8:00 am ET.
AA confirmed the issue has been resolved:
“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.”
Several flights from AA’s hubs are delayed, with Dallas – Fort Worth (DFW) and Charlotte (CLT) hit hardest, per Flight Aware:
- Dallas (DFW) – 207 delayed flights
- Charlotte (CLT) – 168 delayed flights
- Philadelphia (PHL) – 57 delayed flights
- Chicago (ORD) – 53 delayed flights
- Los Angeles (LAX) – 29 delayed flights
- Phoenix (PHX) – 26 delayed flights
- Boston (BOS) – 21 delayed flights
- New York JFK (JFK) – 19 delayed flights
While the specific nature of the technical issue is not yet known, as delays spread earlier this morning, American AIrlines emphasized safety in its responses to customers:
We’re 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.
— americanair (@AmericanAir) December 24, 2024
As customers pleaded with American Airlines, it could only apologize:
“Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
Whatever the nature of the technical issue, hopefully, there will only be delays. I noted the hundreds of delayed flights above, but as of 10:30 am ET there has not been a single cancellation yet.
