HOUSTON – Travelers headed out for the holidays had a bit of a scare on Christmas Eve morning after American Airlines had to ground all of its flights nationwide, in what was only been described as a “technical issue.”
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A post on the Federal Aviation Administration’s website acknowledged the airline’s request for a “nationwide ground stop” for all American Airlines planes and subsidiary airlines.
American later cited a “vendor technology issue” that impacted systems and ultimately caused the flights to be grounded across the country.
American Airlines also said on X it was working to get the situation fixed and get travelers to their destination safely.
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 for how long it would take to get resolved? According to the time stamps on the FAA’s orders, the ground-stop request lasted exactly one hour.
Locally, the Houston Airport System (HAS) confirmed in a statement to KPRC 2 reporter Rilwan Balogun it has had no significant impacts on operations.
Please for the love of god fix this. I need to get home and see my family
— J Christopher (@cfijeff82) December 24, 2024
The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen 40 million passengers over the holidays and through January 2.
Considering the timing for American Airlines to have a technical issue, many travelers shared their frustrations on how inconvenient it was and how it’s impacting their Christmas plans.
“Please for the love of god fix this,” one person said (via X) to American Airlines. “I need to get home and see my family.”
We're doing our best to get things back on track. Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this has caused.
— americanair (@AmericanAir) December 24, 2024
In a follow-up statement, American Airlines said it was a “vendor technology issue” that caused the delays, but said the flights have resumed and apologized for the inconvenience.
“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.
“Additional info:
- The technology issue impacted systems needed to release flights.
- The ground stop lasted approximately one hour.
- Customers can find the latest information on their flight using the mobile app and aa.com.”
