American Airlines stock down 1.9% after technical glitch briefly impacts flight operations on Christmas Eve | Stock Market News
Source: Live Mint
American Airlines shares traded lower by 1.9 per cent on Tuesday, December 24, after the carrier briefly grounded all its flights in the United States due to an unspecified technical issue. However, the issue was resolved later in the day, and the ground stop on all US flights was lifted just a little before 8 a.m. ET (6:30 p.m. IST), and flights resumed full operations.
“American Airlines reported a technical issue this morning and requested a nationwide ground stop. The ground stop has now been lifted,” the Federal Aviation Administration announced following the disruption on Tuesday morning, according to US media reports, after the initial notice.
Also Read: American Airlines flight update: Operations resume in US after ground stop order on Christmas Eve
American Airlines flight ops suffer technical glitch
The world’s largest aircraft operator grounded all its flights in the US on Tuesday, Christmas Eve, due to a technical issue, according to the carrier and the Federal Aviation Administration’s notice. When the disruptions were first reported, it was unclear how long the ground stop would be in place.
The technical issue occurred just as the Christmas travel season kicks into overdrive, and winter weather threatens more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Early in the day, 1,447 flights entering or leaving the US were delayed, with 28 cancellations. At the airline’s request, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop order for all American Airlines flights just before 7:00 am Eastern time.
According to reports, snow was falling early in New York, and Dallas-Fort Worth International, American Airlines’ main hub, was getting hit with rain. Dallas-Fort Worth had the most delays, followed by Charlotte, North Carolina, Washington, New York, Chicago, and Miami. Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations more disruptive.
According to the Associated Press, American Airlines said in an email that the problem Tuesday morning was caused by a vendor technology issue that “impacted systems needed to release flights.” Passengers took to social media to report that their flights were stranded on the runway at various airports and were now being returned to the gate.
American Airlines’ ground stop comes just months after airlines were affected by a global tech outage linked to Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and a software issue at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. American Airlines operates thousands of flights daily to over 350 destinations across more than 60 countries.
