American Airlines, one of the world’s largest airlines, was forced to briefly suspend flights on Tuesday due to a “technical issue.”
The airline and its subsidiaries were forced to ground their flights, with passengers reporting that a software error appeared to be the cause of the closure and that boarding passes could not be scanned at the gates.
At the request of the airline, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has halted all American Airlines flights across the country on one of the busiest days of the year.
The closure was lifted again after about an hour.
Many American families gather on Christmas Eve and often fly long distances before celebrating Christmas Day together.
The Jewish festival of Hanukkah also falls on Wednesday this year and coincides with Christmas Day.
