American Airlines System Outage Sparks Mass Chaos, Stranding Thousands on Runways Nationwide

American Airlines Faces System Outage and Turbulence Crisis
[Image: Airport chaos with grounded planes; Caption: Passengers stranded during American Airlines’ system outage.]

American Airlines experienced a nationwide system outage on Thursday, halting all flights and leaving travelers stranded. The technical failure, impacting maintenance, flight planning, and passenger manifests, began around 1:30pm ET. Passengers reported delays at gates and on runways, with some sharing frustrations on social media.

One Reddit user wrote, “AA flights everywhere are impacted by the maintenance system being down.” A pilot in Fort Myers told passengers they couldn’t access flight plans or fuel reports. By 2:37pm ET, American Airlines tweeted an apology, stating teams were working to resolve the issue.

Downdetector highlighted outages in major hubs like Dallas, Chicago, and New York. Traveler Derick Bores, stuck in Dallas-Fort Worth, shared that the pilot considered deplaning due to delays. American Airlines responded on social media, thanking customers for their patience.

[Image: Turbulence on a flight; Caption: Flight 1286 encountered severe turbulence, injuring passengers and crew.]

This incident follows a separate crisis on Sunday when Flight 1286 from Miami to Raleigh-Durham hit extreme turbulence, injuring five people. Passengers described chaos as items flew through the cabin, with a flight attendant scalded by hot water and another suffering a broken arm. Three crew members and two passengers were hospitalized but later released.

Travelers criticized the crew’s response, claiming delayed communication and refusal to divert the plane. American Airlines stated the seatbelt sign was on, though passengers disputed this, noting drink service was ongoing during the turbulence.

The airline faces scrutiny over both incidents, with customers demanding improved safety and communication protocols.

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