American Airlines’ operations were disrupted by a nationwide ground stop on the morning of 24 December, amid the height of the winter holiday air travel period. 

The Fort Worth-headquartered carrier confirmed via social media that it had “resolved a vendor technology issue that briefly affected flights this morning”. 

“We sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience and have issued a travel alert to allow for additional flexibility,” American says. 

Fight-tracking platform FlightAware shows that nearly 40% of American’s 24 December flights have been delayed, but data show a negligible number of flight cancellations thus far. 

American does not specify what prompted the ground stop, though the Federal Aviation Administration said that the carrier requested it due to a technical issue. According to social media posts shared by passengers, American encountered issues with scanning boarding passes at airport gates. 

The FAA confirms that the ground stop, which applied to all of American’s US flights, was lifted after about 1h.  

Several instances of software issues plaguing major US carriers during operational peaks have made headlines in recent years. Most notably, Southwest Airlines’ network collapsed in December 2022 as the carrier’s crew-tracking software malfunctioned and Delta Air Lines grappled in July with a CrowdStrike-related IT outage that triggered cascading cancellations. 

Operational disruptions are particularly unwelcome for US carriers at the outset of the historically busy winter holiday season. 

American anticipates transporting nearly 13 million air travellers on 118,000 flights during the period from 18 December-6 January. It expects the most-travelled day will be 27 December. 

The carrier recently touted “leading the industry in on-time departures” and cancelling the fewest numbers of flights among its major US airline peers during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period. 

“We look forward to continuing that momentum as millions once again take to the skies for holiday gatherings and winter vacations,” said David Seymour, American’s chief operating officer.