American Airlines lifts nationwide ground stop: NPR

An American Airlines plane at the gate in Philadelphia. On Tuesday, the airline issued a national flight stop.

Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

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Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

American Airlines passengers across the US endured a sudden disruption to service on Christmas Eve when a “technical issue” forced the airline to request a nationwide ground stop of its operations.

“The ground stop has now been lifted,” the Federal Aviation Administration told NPR shortly after 8 a.m. ET.

On Facebook and X, passengers shared stories of boarding flights early on Christmas Eve – only to stand and wait on the tarmac. In some cases, they described being told the plane would return to its gate so everyone on board could fly.

Nearly 12.7 million passengers are expected to fly on American Airlines this winter holiday season, spanning more than 118,000 flights, according to the airline. The most traveled day in that span is both Fridays, before and just after Christmas.