The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on 24DEC briefly ordered all American Airlines flights grounded in the U.S. after the airline reported a technical issue affecting its entire system.
The move came on one of the busiest travel days of the year, with millions of travellers taking to the skies to meet family or friends for Christmas, or to get away for a needed break.
Published reports said the ground stop came at undetermined time early in the morning and was lifted just before 8 a.m. ET.
“A technical issue is affecting American flights this morning,” a spokeswoman said. “Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
CNBC said it wasn’t immediately clear what the cause of the technical issue was or how many flights were impacted.
A spokeswoman said American Airlines pax "might see some impacts throughout the day."
