停飞指令大约持续了一个小时，但目前问题已经解决，航班也随之恢复正常。美国航空没有说是否预计会出现更多延误或其他连锁反应。根据航空数据提供商Cirium的数据，美国航空当天有3320个国内航班和581个国际航班。① American Airlines temporarily suspended all flights on Christmas Eve due to a technical failure by a supplier, but the issue has been resolved and operations have returned to normal; ② As it is the peak Christmas travel season, any flight delays or cancellations will have a larger disruptive impact.
On December 24, local time, American Airlines stated that all flights were temporarily suspended on Christmas Eve due to a technical failure by a supplier, expecting that the travel plans of a large number of passengers would be affected. U.S. stocks saw American Airlines' shares drop nearly 3% in early trading.
Earlier, in light of the technical issues, the airline suspended all its domestic flights within the USA. American Airlines stated in a release, "The team is working diligently to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and the company apologizes for the inconvenience caused to customers."
The grounding order lasted for about an hour, but the problem has now been resolved, and flights have returned to normal. American Airlines did not indicate whether more delays or other chain reactions were expected. According to aviation data provider Cirium, American Airlines had 3,320 domestic flights and 581 international flights scheduled for that day.
Some passengers posted online that the airline's software had failed to produce correct weight and center of gravity data for the flights, resulting in their inability to take off.
Delays during holiday travel are not uncommon, but this time coincides with the peak Christmas travel season, and cold weather may pose additional potential issues for travelers.
Many flights during the holiday period are sold out, making the impact of flight cancellations greater than during the off-peak season. This is especially true for smaller low-cost airlines, as they have fewer flights and limited options for passenger rebooking. Only larger airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines have interline agreements that allow them to arrange for stranded passengers to be accommodated on other airlines’ flights.
This will be the first holiday season since the U.S. Department of Transportation regulation took effect, requiring airlines to automatically provide cash refunds to passengers for flight cancellations or significant delays.
In July this year, during the peak summer travel season, a global technical failure caused travel chaos around the world. Most Airlines restored services within a day, but Delta Air Lines' system took about a week to recover.
This disaster left approximately 0.5 million people stranded, disrupted holidays and travel plans, and prompted a federal investigation.
In December 2022, a fierce winter storm brought feet of snow to much of the USA, resulting in numerous flight cancellations during the Christmas period. Although air travel was more or less back to normal a few days later, Southwest Airlines continued to face a significant number of cancellations and delays due to its outdated scheduling system.
