American Airlines Soars Again: Flights Reignite After Technical Hiccups

NEW YORK — American Airlines temporarily suspended flights across the country Tuesday because of a technical problem, coinciding with the peak Christmas travel period.

Federal authorities approved American flights to resume approximately an hour after a nationwide ground halt order was implemented at the airline’s request.

Just prior to 7 a.m. Eastern time, the Federal Aviation Administration mandated that all American Airlines flights in the U.S. be halted at the airline’s behest. American reported a technical glitch impacting its entire system with millions of passengers traveling for the festive season.

According to timestamps from the FAA’s directives, the ground stop lasted precisely one hour.

American has not elaborated on the specific technical issue that led to the flight suspensions and the airline did not promptly reply to a comment request.

The groundings couldn’t occur at a more inconvenient time for the millions of passengers anticipating flights over the next ten days. The Transportation Security Administration projects screening 40 million individuals during the holiday season and through January 2.

Many flights during the holiday season are fully booked, making cancellations even more troublesome than during less busy times. Even with a brief disruption, cancellations can create a ripple effect that might take days to resolve.

In December 2022, Southwest Airlines stranded 2 million travelers, and Delta Air Lines experienced a lesser yet still significant disruption following a global technology failure in July caused by a flawed software update from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

Southwest was required to pay a fine of $35 million as part of a $140 million settlement to address a federal inquiry into the Christmas fiasco of 2022.

Excluding the settlement, the country’s fourth-largest airline by revenue indicated that the disruption cost it over $1.1 billion in refunds and compensations, additional expenses, and lost ticket sales over several months.

South Florida travelers cope with delays

Many passengers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport were unaware of the glitch until WPTV reporter Victor Jorges informed them about the technical difficulties.

“I wasn’t aware of anything,” Robyn Lucas, who was traveling to Iowa with a layover in Dallas, stated. “Our flight’s delayed by only 20 minutes, so it’s not too serious. I’m not anxious.”

Travelers were primarily worried about missing their connecting flights due to the hour-long ground stop.

“There’s not really a choice,” Gabe Lucas, who was traveling with his family, articulated. “You simply have to manage it as it unfolds, so make the best of it. We must find a way home.”

WPTV also interviewed Carrah Riner of Boca Raton, who was on her way to Tennessee with a stop in Charlotte, North Carolina. By Tuesday morning, she was uncertain if she would have ample time to catch her connecting flight on her way home.

“I’m not sure if I’ll make my flight (leaving) Charlotte,” she expressed. “I have roughly 10 minutes [between both flights].”

She mentioned that she was unsure of her backup plan if she missed that connecting flight, but she was already devising alternative arrangements.

“To be honest, I’m considering renting a car and just driving home because the next flight is at around 4 p.m., and I really don’t want to wait in the airport for four hours,” she remarked.

Another traveler, Sonia McCole, who was traveling to Oklahoma to visit her son and grandson, arrived at the airport early. She indicated she wasn’t anticipating things to be “this chaotic” on Christmas Eve morning.

“I arrived three hours early just to be safe, you know, just to ensure everything,” she noted. “You just never know. It doesn’t seem too severe over there now, so we will see.”