A “technical issue” with a vendor forced the grounding of all American Airlines flights earlier this morning. While normal operations have resumed, thousands of travelers’ Christmas Eve plans were disrupted.
Travelers Face Over 600 Delayed American Airlines Flights On Christmas Eve After Brief Nationwide Ground Stop Blamed On Technical Glitch
At around 7:00 am ET, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all American Airlines flights (at the request of the carrier). The ground stop lasted for exactly one hour, lifting just before 8:00 am ET.
AA confirmed the issue has been resolved:
“A vendor technology issue briefly affected flights this morning. That issue has been resolved and flights have resumed. We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this morning. It’s all hands on deck as our team is working diligently to get customers where they need to go as quickly as possible.”
Several flights from AA’s hubs are delayed, with Dallas – Fort Worth (DFW) and Charlotte (CLT) hit hardest, per Flight Aware:
- Dallas (DFW) – 207 delayed flights
- Charlotte (CLT) – 168 delayed flights
- Philadelphia (PHL) – 57 delayed flights
- Chicago (ORD) – 53 delayed flights
- Los Angeles (LAX) – 29 delayed flights
- Phoenix (PHX) – 26 delayed flights
- Boston (BOS) – 21 delayed flights
- New York JFK (JFK) – 19 delayed flights
While the specific nature of the technical issue is not yet known, as delays spread earlier this morning, American AIrlines emphasized safety in its responses to customers:
We’re currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights. Your safety is our utmost priority, once this is rectified, we’ll have you safely on your way to your destination.
— americanair (@AmericanAir) December 24, 2024
As customers pleaded with American Airlines, it could only apologize:
“Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
Whatever the nature of the technical issue, hopefully, there will only be delays. I noted the hundreds of delayed flights above, but as of 10:30 am ET there has not been a single cancellation yet.
Supposedly it was a FOS network issue.
What is FOS?
Flight Operations System.
It manages crew and aircraft.
It’s about 100 years old (I’m being only slightly facetious) and AA has been trying to replace it for at least 15 years.
There’s no cancels yet because AA likes to delay flights for hours, on a rolling basis 15-30 minutes at a time, and then cancel many hours later. It’s the evening departures that will fall apart once crews timeout and the Christmas Eve reserves are depleted.
If you have to go AA, only the first flight of the day!
Good luck and may the spirit of the season help the stranded!
@FrequentWanderer – good points to consider, and I also add my wishes to those affected.
As someone in the DFW area who has become a free agent with travel, I’ve given AA some opportunities to earn my business this year. Unfortunately, I’ve been stung many times. I agree – first flight of the day ensures some recoverability.
I’ve found this year that AA plays the following game – DFW edition:
1) Sends first notification of delay *after* flight is supposed to board, and usually a 30-60 minute push. Also, at DFW, this is where they may try to change a gate/terminal on you and/or try to switch to another inbound equipment
2) After original updated/delayed boarding time is passed, sends another message indicating a longer duration delay (e.g. 2+ hours) – possibly another gate/terminal change.
3) After another hour or so, the flight is either “delayed” to the wee hours of the next day or cancelled outright.
The key here, I’ve found, is don’t check any luggage unless it’s necessary and to find an alternate (or go home and try again) between 1 and 2. Keep tuned to FlightAware for any delays on the inbound equipment, AA’s application is notoriously out of phase.
Add in the weather slow-rolling through the DFW area this morning and early afternoon, and the usual AA and DFW Clown Show – “Holiday Super Special Edition” ensues.
No one notices unusual delays on AA because it’s the norm.