CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Diya TV) — American Airlines resumed most of its flight operations Tuesday evening after the Federal Aviation Administration eased a nationwide ground stop that followed a systemwide information technology outage. The disruption affected flights across the airline’s network and caused delays at several airports. However, Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina continued to face restrictions as the carrier worked to reduce a growing backlog of flights.
The FAA updated its advisory later Tuesday and limited the ground stop to Charlotte Douglas International Airport, one of American Airlines’ busiest hubs. As a result, flights at most other airports resumed. Even so, passengers traveling through Charlotte continued to experience delays because of heavy traffic and congestion.
American Airlines confirmed that its systems had returned to normal after the temporary outage. The airline said a technology issue briefly affected connectivity across some of its systems. Soon afterward, its technical teams restored service and resumed flight departures.
“Connectivity has been fully restored,” the airline said in a statement. It also apologized to customers for the disruption and thanked employees for working quickly to restore operations and assist travelers.
Earlier in the evening, the airline had temporarily stopped departures while engineers worked to fix the issue. The move aimed to prevent further operational problems as the outage spread across its network. Although the pause created widespread delays, crews restarted flights once the systems became stable.
Even after the nationwide ground stop ended, Charlotte remained under FAA restrictions. According to the updated advisory, American Airlines continued to manage a significant backlog of flights at its largest hub. Therefore, some aircraft scheduled to arrive in Charlotte stayed at their departure airports until traffic conditions improved.
The FAA also reported that ground delays for flights heading to Charlotte increased during the evening. Average delays rose from about 24 minutes to nearly 49 minutes. In addition, many travelers faced much longer waits because of the growing congestion at the airport.
Officials also warned that the localized ground stop in Charlotte could last longer than expected. The FAA estimated there was a 30% to 60% chance that restrictions would extend beyond the scheduled end time if traffic conditions failed to improve.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport plays a major role in American Airlines’ network. Every day, the airport handles hundreds of arrivals and departures. As a result, even a short technology problem can create delays that spread across the airline’s entire system.
While operations resumed across most of the country, crews continued to work through delayed flights and aircraft positioning. In many cases, airlines need time to move aircraft, pilots and flight attendants back into place after a large operational disruption. Consequently, some passengers could still experience schedule changes even after systems return to normal.
American Airlines urged customers to monitor their flight status before leaving for the airport. Travelers with flights to or through Charlotte may continue to see delays while the airline clears the remaining congestion. However, flights at other airports have largely returned to normal schedules.
The airline did not provide additional details about the technology issue that caused the outage. It also did not indicate whether the problem affected customer information or other internal systems.
