More Than 24 Flights Affected By Software Issue

American Airlines pilots using iPads loaded with Jeppesen EFB software were grounded for a brief time Tuesday when problems arose with the software loaded on the devices.

CNN reports that airline spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said that "more than a couple dozen flight" were affected by the problem. In a statement, the airline said that "some flights are experiencing an issue with a software application on pilot iPads. In some cases, the flight has had to return to the gate to access a WiFi connection to fix the issue."

American was the first airline to switch to EFBs, making the switch from paper to digital charts in 2013. The airline purchased 8,000 iPads, which replaced some 24 million pages of documents, according to the report. The weight savings is has meant a reduction of at least 400,000 gallons of fuel per year for the carrier.

Apple Insider reports that the EFBs being used by both the captain and copilot aboard one 737 "went blank" as the crew taxied for takeoff.

American uses Jeppesen's Mobile Chart app. That company had not made a statement as of this writing.

FMI: www.aa.com