American Airlines briefly grounded all its flights in the United States on Tuesday morning, according to a notice from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The regulator said just before 8 a.m. EST that the airline was resuming flights after suspending them for about an hour.
American said in a statement that it had experienced a vendor technology issue that affected systems needed to release flights. But the problem was resolved and flights were resumed. The airline issued a waiver allowing people flying through some airports, like Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Miami International Airport, to reschedule their flights through Thursday without incurring additional fees.
The airline told customers on social media that it was experiencing “a technical issue.” In comments to frustrated travelers, it said it was working to rectify the situation.
“Our team is currently working to get this done,” American Airlines said on the social platform X. “An estimated time frame has not been provided, but they’re trying to fix it in the shortest possible time.”
The ground stop, though only for an hour, could result in heavy delays during what’s expected to be a record holiday travel time. Tens of millions of people fly during the period from mid-December to shortly after New Year’s Day. The FAA said it expected more than 31,000 flights on Christmas Eve.
The airline is the largest carrier in the United States by number of seats, according to OAG, an aviation data provider. It has more than 3,300 domestic flights scheduled Tuesday and 581 international departures, according to Cirium, an aviation data company.
Some passengers took the problem in stride. Mary Hardy, 64, was waiting at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for her flight to Newark, New Jersey, when the delay was announced. She said she was disappointed, but she acknowledged that mishaps were to be expected during holiday travel.
“We should have known flying out Christmas Eve that something could happen,” she said. “You just have to be prepared.”
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