Holiday travelers faced a stressful start to Christmas Eve as American Airlines briefly grounded all US flights due to a mysterious technical issue.
Already frazzled by the holiday rush, passengers turned to social media to voice concerns about missed connections and disrupted holiday plans.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the airline had requested a nationwide ground stop but it was lifted shortly after it began.
Passengers Are Still in Limbo
Still, the ripple effects of delays left many travelers in limbo.
American Airlines apologized, saying, “We’re working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”
Some passengers reported being stuck on runways or sent back to gates. A video from Fort Lauderdale airport captured an agent announcing, “Our system is down.”
At the same time, a traveler posted online that flights couldn’t depart due to software issues affecting weight and balance calculations.
BBC Live quoted a CBS reporter in Fort Lauderdale saying that the system was slowly coming back.
