American Airlines keep planes grounded due to ‘technical issues’

All American Airlines flights around the country were grounded for a short period on Christmas Eve morning, clogging business air traffic because of what was described as a technical issue, the carrier said.

The ground stop was lifted at about 7:55 a.m. EDT, slowing early bird travelers. American Airlines did not give details about the technical issue or how many flights it affected.

“A technical issue is affecting American flights this morning,” a carrier spokeswoman said during the stoppage, according to CNBC. “Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

The ground stop lasted for about an hour before American Airlines passengers were allowed to board planes again and leave for their destinations around the country.

The disruption comes at one of the busiest times during the holiday season with the Transportation Security Administration expected to screen nearly 40 million people for flights from Dec. 19 through Jan. 2. That is a 6.2% expected increase from last year.