The company could not predict when operations would resume
Every single American Airlines flight in the US has been grounded due to a “technical issue,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. With the glitch striking during the busiest travel period of the year, millions of people could be affected.
In a notice on its website, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that American Airlines – the country’s largest carrier – had requested a ground stop for all of its flights on Tuesday morning.
The company confirmed shortly afterwards that it was “experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights.”
Responding to a post from a customer on X, American Airlines said that it could not provide a timeframe for flights to resume, only that technicians were “trying to fix it in the shortest possible time.”
Video footage shared on X showed passengers being told to wait at crowded gate areas. In one video, an American Airlines employee announced that “our system is down.”
Announcement from American Airlines as we wait at @FLLFlyer @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/zL4137ih4g
— Anna McAllister (@annamactv) December 24, 2024
The Christmas and New Year period is a busy one for air travel. According to trade group Airlines for America, roughly 54 million US passengers are expected to take to the sky between December 19 and January 6, a 6% increase over last year.
