American Airlines said its computer systems were restored and flights had resumed after intermittent outages on Tuesday forced it to ground hundreds of US flights, but warned travelers to expect some cancelations to continue for a second day.
American, which operates more than 3,500 daily flights worldwide, said it saw no evidence that its technical problems were related to recent events in Boston, where bombings at the finish line of the city’s marathon on Monday killed three and injured many others.
The problem with the computer systems began in mid-morning and prompted American to ask the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground its flights until 4pm central daylight time (CDT). The company said its systems were restored as of 3:30pm CDT.
Photo: AFP
“Flights have resumed, but we expect cancelations and delays throughout the remainder of the day,” the carrier said.
In an updated statement the airline said some cancelations were likely yesterday as well, although they would be few in number.
“Flights from our hubs and international flights having been re-started and we will reposition aircraft and crew throughout the evening,” it said.
Asked if there was a safety issue involved, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said American requested the flight halt based on its operational needs. Huerta added he was not aware of any suggestion that American’s computer systems had been hacked.
Flight tracking service FlightAware said American had canceled 720 flights, including 400 at Dallas/Fort Worth and 200 at Chicago, two of its major hub cities.
At Los Angeles International Airport, staff began rebooking passengers by early afternoon, airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles said.
Mark Duell, vice president of operations at FlightAware, said American hubs at New York’s John F. Kennedy and Miami airports would also see significant delays.
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