American Airlines experienced significant flight delays on Christmas Eve due to a technical issue involving a vendor’s system, but the airline managed to avert a more severe meltdown.
The disruption began Tuesday morning when a network hardware issue with DXC Technology, a vendor managing American’s flight operating system, caused an hour-long ground stop. This pause in operations ended shortly before 8 a.m. ET, allowing flights to resume. However, the ripple effects were felt throughout the day.
By Tuesday afternoon, around 1,000 of American’s mainline flights—more than 40% of its schedule—had been delayed, as reported by FlightAware. Despite the extensive delays, cancellations were minimal, with only 13 mainline flights and 17 flights operated by Envoy, American’s regional subsidiary, canceled. About one-third of Envoy’s flights faced delays as well.
The technical issue disrupted American’s ability to coordinate and dispatch flights. DXC Technology, the vendor responsible for the affected systems, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Adding to the challenges, bad weather exacerbated the situation. Thunderstorms caused delays averaging over three hours at American’s Dallas-Fort Worth hub, while snow and ice on the East Coast created additional complications for flight schedules.
American Airlines faced more pronounced delays compared to its competitors. According to FlightAware, 12% of United Airlines’ mainline flights and 7% of Delta Air Lines’ flights experienced delays on Tuesday.
In a statement, American Airlines expressed regret for the inconvenience:
“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.”
The disruption occurred during an otherwise smooth holiday travel season. Airlines had managed a record number of Thanksgiving travelers with minimal issues. Between last Wednesday and Sunday, American reported canceling only 0.4% of its flights. On Tuesday, American operated about 3,900 flights, a decrease from the 6,400 flights scheduled on Monday.
Despite the challenges, American Airlines’ stock rose nearly 0.6% to $17.35 on Tuesday, although it lagged behind other airline stocks.
Airlines remain vulnerable to technological glitches, whether caused by third-party providers or their own aging systems. Earlier this year, the industry also faced disruptions during the global CrowdStrike outage, highlighting the risks of relying on complex and interconnected systems.
