Washington DC [US]: American Airlines resumed operations on Tuesday morning following a “technical issue” that led to the grounding of all its flights during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Service was restored by 8 am ET (6:30 pm IST), according to CNN.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted its nationwide ground stop order for American Airlines flights after the airline requested the halt on Christmas Eve. The FAA directed all inquiries to the airline for further details about the disruption.
In a statement, American Airlines apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused. “We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline said, as reported by CNN.
Passengers, who were informed of the issue early Tuesday morning, expressed frustration over delays and the lack of timely updates. Some travellers reported on social media that flights were returning to the gate due to a software issue that disrupted weight and balance calculations, according to CNN.
The issue also impacted the airline’s stock performance, with shares initially dropping nearly 3 per cent in premarket trading. However, the stock rebounded later, rising by 1 per cent after the problem was resolved.