On Tuesday morning, a “technical issue” briefly affected American Airlines flights across the United States, the airline confirmed. This disruption occurred at the beginning of a peak travel season for many Americans.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that American Airlines had requested a ground stop for all of its flights. Approximately one hour later, the airline announced that flights were starting to board again, and the FAA lifted the nationwide hold on departures.
American Airlines clarified the situation, stating, “A vendor technology issue briefly affected flights this morning,” in a statement provided to ABC News. “That issue has been resolved and flights have resumed.”
The airline also issued an apology, emphasizing, “We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this morning,” and reassured travelers with, “It’s all hands on deck as our team is working diligently to get customers where they need to go as quickly as possible.”
In a tweet sent earlier on Tuesday, American Airlines acknowledged the problem, noting, “a technical issue with all American Airlines flights.” The post reassured passengers, stating, “Your safety is our utmost priority, once this is rectified, we’ll have you safely on your way to your destination.” When responding to queries from other users on social media, the airline stated it couldn’t immediately provide an estimate for how long it would take to resolve the issue.
American also indicated, “We don’t have a ‘timeframe’ yet, but we’re trying to fix it in the shortest possible time.”
The airline reiterated its commitment to resolving the disruption, stating, “Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” in another message sent to ABC News.
This disruption comes at an inopportune time as a record number of travelers are expected to take to the skies this holiday season. According to the Transportation Security Administration, nearly 40 million people are expected to pass through airport security between December 19 and January 2, marking a 6.2% increase from the previous year.
American Airlines anticipates that December 27 and December 20 will be its busiest and second-busiest days of the holiday season, which officially began on December 18.
{Matzav.com}