A “technical issue” grounded American Airlines flights early Tuesday, the airline said, during a busy start. christmas Eve for country travelers.
The Federal Aviation Administration said American had requested a ground stop for all its flights. An hour later, American said flights had started coming in again and the FAA had lifted the nationwide ground shutdown.
“We are currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights,” the airline wrote a message to X
The post added: “Your safety is our highest priority, once this is addressed we will get you safely on your way to your destination.” In response to questions from other social media users, the airline said it could not estimate how long the repairs would take.
An American Airlines passenger jet is parked at a gate at Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 13, 2024.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
The airline wrote that it did not yet have “a deadline” but that it was “trying to resolve it in the shortest possible time.”
In a statement to ABC News, the airline added: “Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for any inconvenience.”
The break will be inconvenient for one A record number of Americans is expected to travel during this holiday season. The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen nearly 40 million passengers from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2, a 6.2 percent increase from 2023.
American Airlines said it expected Dec. 27 and Dec. 20 to be its busiest and second busiest days, respectively, of the holiday season that began Dec. 18.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Ayesha Ali, Clara McMichael and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
