American Airlines Planes Grounded by Tech Issue

The carrier told The Independent Friday that a software change has impacted 209 Airbus A320 jets, less than the 340 initially identified.

As of Friday night, fewer than 150 affected planes still need to have their software updated.

“We expect the overwhelming majority of those [software updates] to be completed today and through the night, with only a handful remaining for completion tomorrow,” American Airlines said.The software issue comes at a chaotic time for airlines as 6 million U.S. travelers fly domestically over the Thanksgiving holiday, according to estimates from the American Automobile Association.

“Safety will always be our top priority, and we thank our customers for their patience during this unexpected event,” the carrier said.

Delta Air Lines also expects some of its planes to be affected by the software issue.

"As safety comes before everything else, Delta will fully comply with a directive and expects any resulting operational impact to be limited," the carrier told USA

In total, more than 3,700 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were delayed, and nearly 100 more were canceled on Friday, according to data from FlightAware.
This is the latest problem to hit American travelers after the longest government shutdown in U.S. history created mass delays and cancellations last month.