An American Airlines plan at the gate in Philidelphia. On Tuesday, the airline issued a national halt to flights.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
American Airlines passengers across the U.S. endured a sudden disruption of service on Christmas Eve, as a “technical issue” forced the airline to request a nationwide ground stop of its operations.
“The ground stop has now been lifted,” the Federal Aviation Administration told ReadNOW shortly after 8 a.m. ET.
On Facebook and X, passengers shared stories of boarding planes early on Christmas Eve — only to be left waiting on the tarmac. In some cases, they described being told the flight would return to its gate so everyone onboard could deplane.
Nearly 12.7 million passengers are expected to fly on American Airlines this winter holiday season, comprising more than 118,000 flights, according to the airline. The most-traveled day in that span are both Fridays, ahead of and just after Christmas.