American Airlines blames ‘supplier technology issue’ for briefly grounding flights on Christmas Eve

HOUSTON – Travelers going on vacation were a little scared Christmas Eve the next morning American airlines had to ground all of its flights nationwide, in what was described only as a “technical issue.”

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An article on the Federal Aviation Administration website acknowledged the airline’s request for a “nationwide ground stop” for all aircraft of American Airlines and its subsidiaries.

American then cited a “provider technology issue” that impacted systems and ultimately resulted in the grounding of flights across the country.

American Airlines also said on X that it was working to resolve the situation and get travelers to their destinations safely.

As for how long would it take to resolve? According to timestamps on the FAA orders, the ground stop request lasted exactly one hour.

Locally, the Houston Airport System (HAS) confirmed in a statement to KPRC 2 reporter Rilwan Balogun that it has had no significant impact on its operations.

THE Transportation Security Administration said it plans to screen 40 million passengers over the holiday and through January 2.

Given the timing of American Airlines’ technical issue, many travelers shared their frustrations about the inconvenience and the impact it had on their Christmas plans.

“Please, for the love of God, fix this,” one person told American Airlines (via X). “I have to go home and see my family.”

In a later statement, American Airlines said it was a “supplier technology issue” that caused the delays, but said flights had resumed and apologized for the inconvenience.

“A technology issue with a supplier briefly affected flights this morning. This issue has been resolved and flights have resumed. We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused this morning. It’s all hands on deck as our team works diligently to get customers where they need to go as quickly as possible.

“Additional information:

• The technological glitch impacted the systems needed to release flights.

• The ground stop lasted approximately an hour.

• Customers can find the latest information about their flight via the mobile app and aa.com.”