BOSTON – A brief nationwide American Airlines ground stop was a traveler’s worst nightmare Tuesday on Christmas Eve.
American Airlines ground stop
A total of 25 American Airlines flights from Boston were delayed during what’s expected to be the airline’s busiest holiday season on record. The good news is that no flights were canceled.
“I woke up this morning looked at my news feeds and was shocked,” said David, who spent the last few days with extended family in Boston. His flight home on American Airlines was delayed on Tuesday as a result of a ripple effect following the ground stop.
As a result, he had to find another way back to Washington D.C.
“Looked for more information, looked for alternate flights and then American sent me a message,” David said.
Why were American Airline flights delayed?
On Tuesday morning, passengers received an email from the airline saying the systems needed to release flights failed. The technology issues forced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground all planes.
“It’s all hands on deck as our team is working diligently to get customers where they need to go as quickly as possible,” American Airlines said in a statement.
The systems are now back up and running, but the damage was done as many passengers were impacted.
“We were supposed to leave around 12:30 today,” said Yun Wen, who was headed to Guatemala to see volcanoes and national parks, but instead spent an extra day inside Logan Airport after missing a layover due to the four-hour delay in Boston.
“I still feel lucky we can get their tomorrow, but I wish I could get their today,” said Sean, who was traveling with Wen.
The American Airlines ground stop ended around 8 a.m. on Tuesday. But the terminal at Logan remained empty as passengers waited for their delayed flights to take off.
“The estimated departure time is still estimated so we will see how it goes,” David said.
Laura Haefeli
Laura Haefeli joined WBZ-TV News in February 2023 as a multi-skilled journalist after three years at CBS Sacramento.
