American Airlines grounds all US flights due to technical glitch
American Airlines has grounded all its domestic flights in the US, owing to an unspecified technical issue. The unexpected halt has disrupted the travel plans of thousands of passengers on Christmas Eve. The company is yet to provide a detailed explanation for this sudden cessation of services. The technical glitch has stranded several passengers, with their flights marooned on the runways at different airports.
American Airlines's shares dip
The surprise grounding of flights has also affected American Airlines's market performance. The carrier's shares were down 3.8% before the bell. A notice on the US Federal Aviation Administration website confirmed that the firm requested a nationwide groundstop, without giving any specific reason.
Passengers express frustration over flight grounding
The absence of formal communication from American Airlines has sparked an outcry on social media platforms. Stranded passengers have flocked to X, Bluesky, and Facebook to vent their frustration and seek answers. One user wrote, "Hey, @AmericanAir just tell us whether we should go home or not. Please don't make us wait in the airport for hours."
American Airlines's global reach affected
American Airlines operates thousands of flights every day to over 350 destinations across more than 60 nations. The ongoing grounding may have disrupted these operations, impacting passengers across the globe. Notably, this incident comes just months after a global tech outage impacted airlines earlier this year, related to Microsoft's Azure cloud platform and a software issue at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
