Amtrak booking system returns to normal after outage during nationwide FAA ground stop

 

• • Amtrak's ticket booking system is returning to normal after an outage Friday night. 
  • Officials say the train service is operating normally, but is seeing increased demand.
  • The outage came amid a nationwide FAA ground stop that has since been lifted.

Amtrak said its booking system is returning to normal after a network outage that coincided with a nationwide FAA ground stop.

Users report outage

What we know:

Users on social media started sharing frustrations over ticket reservations Friday afternoon, with travelers showing error messages on Amtrak's website and app.

Hundreds of users reported issues on DownDetector, beginning shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, with another surge just before 6 p.m.

Issues caused by increased demand

What they're saying:

In response to a request for comment, Amtrak's Communications Director W. Kyle Anderson said that "Amtrak service is operating normally, and we are seeing increased demand for travel across our network."

Responding to a frustrated customer Friday, Amtrak officials said in a post on X that the booking issues were related to a system-wide update, but did not elaborate.

Around 9 p.m. officials said the booking systems were returning to normal. 

The company said some customers may still experience issues while processing payments, booking trips or modifying existing reservations. Amtrak’s call centers experienced higher-than-normal call volumes, resulting in longer wait times for some.

FOX 5 DC attempted to call the support number during the outage, around 8 p.m., but an automated message said officials were unable to take calls due to "unusually high call volume."

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/amtrak-outage-ticket-booking-faa-ground-stop-november-13-2026