PENSACOLA, Fla. – American Airlines experienced some major technical problems Tuesday morning that caused flight delays and prevented travelers from boarding planes.

American Airlines suspended all flights across the country around 6:30 a.m. The company says an “issue with the provider’s technology” was responsible for the outage.

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered a nationwide grounding of American Airlines flights at the company’s request.

“We were supposed to leave at about 11:09 a.m. and now it’s noon,” said traveler Abby. “It’s 12:23 p.m. That just means we’ll have lunch here too.”

The problem was resolved and flights resumed soon after, although not without delays.

According to data tracker FlightAware, 26 flights in and out of the United States were canceled and more than a thousand flights were delayed.

Pensacola International Airport reported three arrival delays and three departures before 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Matt Coughlin is director of Pensacola International Airport.

“Some of our departures were delayed by about an hour on average as a result,” Coughlin said.

Since it was a system-wide outage, there is a slight glimmer of hope, he says.

“If you think about it, if you have a connecting flight, those flights are probably delayed too,” Coughlin said. “This gives you a better chance of actually catching that compound. So if that’s a plus, that’s one of them.”

Despite the delays, some travelers are keeping their spirits up.

“We celebrate Christmas and are all together no matter where we are,” said traveler Faith.

Seven flights at Destin Fort Walton Beach Airport were also delayed this morning.

Over at Mobile Regional Airport, two flights were delayed Tuesday afternoon.

Travelers departing on Christmas Eve or Christmas may also experience weather-related delays, depending on the region of the country they are flying to.

Coughlin recommends staying up to date on the weather and flight status.