The world's largest airline, American Airlines, which had to ground all its flights on Tuesday morning -- the Christmas Eve, when the Christmas travel season kicks into high gear, said the flights were cleared to fly by the Federal Aviation Administration.
According to Associated Press, the federal regulators, just before 7 a.m. Eastern time, had issued a national ground stop order. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered all American Airlines flights grounded in the U.S. at the airline’s request. American had reported a technical issue affecting its entire system with millions traveling for the holiday.
The ground stop, according to the time stamps on the FAA’s orders, lasted exactly one hour.
The airline had on Tuesday morning informed passengers that all the flights have been grounded nationwide due to a 'technical' issue, as reported by Reuters earlier.
"Our teams are working diligently to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience," the airline had on Tuesday morning said in a statement.
Passengers were informed of the delays at airports just as they were preparing to board. A video from a U.S. airport showed an American Airlines representative informing travelers, “We will provide updates every 15 minutes and keep you informed. Our system is down, and we are unable to assign crews or board customers at this time. We are working on resolving it.”
The disruption occurred on Christmas Eve morning, a day expected to break travel records, according to AAA. Several passengers took to social media to share their frustration, especially at the airport, as flights were canceled or grounded hours before their scheduled departure.
Reuters reported that American Airlines' stock dropped 3.8% before the bell. While the airline has not made an official statement on social media, it has been addressing customer complaints on platforms like X, Facebook, and Bluesky. A note from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the airline had requested a nationwide grounding of its flights.
American Airlines, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is the largest airline in the world by scheduled passengers carried, revenue passenger miles, and daily flights. Along with its regional subsidiaries and contractors operating under the American Eagle brand, the airline operates an extensive international and domestic network with nearly 6,800 flights daily to almost 350 destinations in 48 countries.
American Airlines is a founding member of the Oneworld alliance and operates from ten hubs, with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) being the largest. The airline handles over 200 million passengers annually, averaging more than 500,000 passengers daily. As of 2023, American Airlines employs 103,200 staff members.