Christmas Eve travel plans for millions of Americans have been thrown into chaos after American Airlines was forced to ground all its flights due to a technical issue.
A snow storm which blew in on the East Coast at the same time as the outage has only added to the travel woes, with the wintery conditions bringing flights to standstill at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
The disruption comes on one of the busiest days for festive travel, with hundreds of flights already delayed or cancelled.
American Airlines has since lifted the ground stop, which was due to a ‘vendor technology’ issue, but a ripple effect is still being felt across the country.
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American Airlines grounds all flights on Christmas Eve due to 'technical issue'
American Airlines has been forced to request a ground stop for all its flights due to the ongoing system outage.
‘A technical issue is affecting American flights this morning,’ the carrier said in a statement.
‘Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.’
Flights resume at Dallas Forth Worth International Airport
A ground stop has been lifted at the Texas airport, according to the FAA.
The halt came after the area was hit with a flash flood warning due to thunderstorms and lightning.
While flights can take to the skies once again there is now an average ground delay of 154 minutes according to the agency.
Meanwhile New York’s LaGuardia Airport is still running around 15 minutes behind schedule following a since-lifted ground stop for ice and snow and ice.
PICTURES: Travel misery continues as delays stack up
The ground stop which affected all American Airlines flights has had a knock-on effect, setting back hundreds of festive travel plans.
At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, the departure board was not a welcome sight for many travelers.
Elsewhere passengers could be seen imploring gate staff for answers as they waited in ever-increasing lines.
Ground stop at Dallas Fort Worth extended
A ground stop at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has been extended until 11am CST due to heavy thunderstorms.
A flash flood warning remains in place for northern Tarant County which continues to be deluged by rain.
Arrivals into the airport are being delayed by up to around two hours, according to the FAA.
Meanwhile, a ground stop at New York’s LaGuardia Airport has been lifted.
American Airlines waives fees for certain passengers looking to change flights
American Airlines is waiving fees for certain customers who want to change their flights in the wake of the disruption caused by their system outage.
Eligible passengers must rebook their travel today for flights and be able to travel on December 24 through 26.
Only those who booked their trips by December 23 will be able to take advantage of the offer.
The option extends to passengers travelling via the following airports but the final destination cannot be amended:
- Austin, Texas (AUS)
- Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
- Charlotte, North Carolina (CLT)
- Chicago, Illinois (ORD)
- Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas (DFW)
- Los Angeles, California (LAX)
- Miami, Florida (MIA)
- New York Kennedy, New York (JFK)
- New York LaGuardia, New York (LGA)
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PHL)
- Phoenix, Arizona (PHX)
- Washington Reagan, Washington D.C. (DCA)
American Airlines stock suffers temporary dip
Travel plans were not the only thing affected by the ground stop on Tuesday.
American Airlines stock tumbled in premarket trading as news of the groundings emerged before rebounding when flights resumed.
The stock was trading at $16.99 when the market opened, down 1.5 percent from $17.25 at the NASDAQ’s close on Monday.
American Airlines stock has increased almost 22 percent over the last year.
Passengers share video of chaotic scenes at airports
The ground stop may have been lifted, but for many air passengers the travel woes have just begun.
Many have been taking to social media to document the scenes as busy airports ground to a halt.
Ground stop in place at LaGuardia Airport
Travelers heading from New York are in for more mysery, after snow which blanketed the Big Apple has resulted in a ground stop at LaGuardia Airport.
A FAA notice indicates that the halt has been brought in due to snow and ice.
Inbound flights are currently experiencing delays of around 15 minutes according to the airport.
Passengers are advised to check with their airline for latest information on delays to departures.
Almost 800 flights in the US delayed or cancelled
FlightAware’s misery map reveals that the number of delayed or cancelled flights has continued to rise despite a temporary halt on flights being lifted.
There were 786 delays and seven cancellations expected between 7am and 11am according to the flight tracker.
Most disruption was being recorded at Dalla Forth Worth Airport in Texas where another ground stop has been brought in due to heavy thunder storms.
Delays pile up at Chicago's O'Hare Airport
American Airlines’ services may have resumed, but at Chicago O’Hare International Airport the knock on effects of the delays are already being felt.
Images show how passengers have begun piling up in the busy departure hall.
O’Hare is typically among the busiest airports in the US.
Between December 20 and January 2, around 3.6 million passengers are expected to pass through Chicago’s two airports.
WATCH: Moment passengers forced to de-plane American Airlines flight
Passengers flying American Airlines out of Boston had a rocky start to their journey after they were forced to de-plane before even moving an inch.
The nationwide groundstop meant that their flight had to be temporarily paused while the airline worked through its technical issues.
Video shows grouchy passengers grumbling as they collect their items before eixiting the plane.
The ground stop has since come to an end, but a ripple effect of delays is still being felt.
American Airlines says glitch was due to 'vendor technology issue'
American Airlines has issued a statement explaining that the system outage which grounded flights this morning was due to a ‘vendor technology issue’.
The technology is required to operate the airline’s system to release flights.
‘That issue has been resolved and flights have resumed,’ the airline said.
‘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.’
Passengers can find the latest information on their flight using the mobile app and aa.com.
Passengers break into applause as flights resume
Travellers across the country have begun to report services are resuming.
In Miami, news that the glitch had ended was met with applause from passengers.
‘System is slowly coming back,’ a gate agent said, prompting the outburst.
Behind her a notice board indicated that the Philadelphia flight had been delayed by at least an hour.
Chaos at Louisville airport amid delays
Lengthy have begun to build at Louisville International Airport in Kentucky.
Disgruntled passengers could beseen stood around in the departure hall as they await updates.
‘It’s absolute chaos here right now, Louisville is a mid-sized airport so I can only imagine what places like Atlanta looks like after the American Airlines system glitch,’ reporter Hayden Smith said.
Snow could threaten to derail travel plans further
A snow storm which has blown in on the East Coast could jeopardize travel plans even further.
The wintery scenes arrived just in time for rush hour and could prove an unwelcome early Christmas gift.
Meanwhile on the West Coast, a bomb cyclone has dumped heavy rain, snow and high winds in parts.
Snaking lines form at Texas airport's check-in desk amid delays
Queues began to form early in the morning at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport following the ground stop.
American Airlines passengers are being advised to check for updates to their itinterary even though the ground stop has now been lifted.
FAA lifts ground stop
The Federal Aviation Authority has ended the ground stop affecting all American Airlines flights.
The ground stop was lifted at 7:50am EST, an hour after it was put in place.
Delays are still expected across the country as the airline scrambles to get back on track.
More than 150 flights delayed or cancelled
The early morning groundstop has already resulted in around 160 cancelled or delayed flights, accoridng to FlightAware.
Between 5am and 9am, there were 156 delays and four cancelled flights.
Most delays were being reported at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport.
AA passengers say they are being asked to deplane
'Technical issue' to blame for nationwide AA ground stop
