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American Airlines has lifted a nationwide ground stop that was implemented due to an IT outage on Tuesday evening (July 28). The airline announced that systems are "coming back online now," and flights are departing again, following a brief disruption that affected connectivity for some systems. The ground stop, which lasted less than an hour, was put in place as a precaution while teams worked to resolve the issue.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), flights not already in the air were held during the outage. American Airlines apologized to customers for the inconvenience caused by the temporary halt in operations.
The outage occurred amidst severe weather conditions in the Northeast, where thunderstorms have led to more than 2,500 flight cancellations across various airports, including New York City's airports and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. As reported by CNN, the storm is expected to continue through the night, potentially dropping a month's worth of rain in some areas.
While the exact cause of the IT outage remains unclear, American Airlines has assured passengers that flights are resuming and operations are returning to normal. Reuters noted that the airline is working to address any remaining issues and minimize further disruptions.