Christmas in the United States was suddenly a thrilling scene.

On the busiest travel day before Christmas, American Airlines suddenly grounded all flights. On December 24th, local time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suddenly announced that American Airlines had grounded all flights nationwide.

Subsequently, American Airlines quickly issued a statement, pointing out that all its flights were facing technical difficulties, and promised to go all out to resume flight operations in the shortest time. Affected by this, American Airlines once fell more than 5% before the market.

At around 21: 00 Beijing time, the Federal Aviation Administration said that the grounding measures for American airlines had been cancelled. American Airlines said that the short grounding was attributed to the failure of the technology supplier, and the grounding measures lasted for about an hour. After the opening of the US stock market, the share price of American Airlines fell, once falling more than 2% in intraday trading.

Suddenly grounded

On December 24th, local time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced in a statement that American Airlines had grounded all flights nationwide. But no reason was given.

Subsequently, American Airlines posted on social platform X that all its flights were experiencing technical problems, which led to the interruption of operations on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

The post also added: "Your safety is our top priority. Once the problem is solved, we will let you reach your destination safely." In response to questions from other social media users, the airline said it could not estimate how long the repair would take.

American Airlines said that the specific repair schedule has not yet been determined, but the team is making every effort to solve the current technical problems as soon as possible.

In a statement to ABC, American Airlines added: "We are making every effort to solve this problem quickly and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to passengers."

American Airlines operates thousands of flights every day to more than 350 destinations in more than 60 countries.

Some online posts reflect that the airline cannot accurately calculate the weight and balance demand of flights due to software failure. The airline said in another post that it is working hard to repair it, but it is not sure how long it will take.

Affected by this, American Airlines once fell more than 5% before the market.

At around 21: 00 Beijing time, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it had cancelled the grounding order for American airlines. American Airlines said that the short grounding was attributed to the failure of the technology supplier, and the grounding measures lasted for about an hour.

After the opening of the US stock market, the share price of American Airlines fell, once falling more than 2% in intraday trading.

According to the data of the US Transportation Security Administration, nearly 40 million passengers are expected to be inspected from December 19th to January 2nd, 2025, which is 6.2% higher than the same period in 2023, reflecting the continuous recovery of air travel demand in the United States.

According to Reuters, a few months ago, American Airlines was grounded due to global technical failures related to Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and software problems of network security company CrowdStrike. Two years ago, Southwest Airlines crashed during the holidays, resulting in the cancellation of 16,900 flights and 2 million passengers stranded. The company was finally fined $140 million, which is the highest civil fine ever imposed due to the interruption of travel.

The recovery of American aviation industry

Recently, the share price of American Airlines has continued to strengthen, stimulated by the recovery of the aviation industry. According to the latest data, since August this year, the share price of American Airlines has risen by more than 90%, which shows the market’s confidence in its performance and industry recovery.

In the news, Wall Street analysts are generally optimistic about airline stocks, which is attributed to the economic recovery, the sharp increase in demand, the increase in fares and the improvement in cost management.

According to the data released by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), on December 1, local time, the passenger flow at American airports reached 3,087,392, a record high.

At the same time, American Airlines recently raised its profit forecast for the last few months of this year, and it is expected that its performance will be even stronger in the key holiday travel season.

American Airlines said in a regulatory document that it expects adjusted earnings per share to reach 55 cents to 75 cents in the fourth quarter, compared with 50 cents at most. The revised range easily exceeded analysts’ average expectation of 40 cents.

In addition, due to the strong demand for travel at the end of the year, JetBlue also updated its guidelines for the fourth quarter. The airline expects that the revenue in the fourth quarter will drop by 2% to 5%, compared with the previous forecast of 3% to 7%; The number of available seat miles is expected to drop by 4.5% to 6.5%, compared with the previous forecast of 4% to 7%.

According to Morgan Stanley’s research, the demand for business travel is expected to return to 85% before the epidemic in 2024. Business travelers are usually willing to pay higher fares, which makes a significant contribution to airline profits. In addition, the increasing demand for luxury and long-distance travel has further enhanced the attractiveness of airlines’ high-end products.

Recently, several airlines have received "buy" ratings from Wall Street analysts. Among them, Goldman Sachs raised the target price of American Airlines by 15% on the grounds of revenue growth and improved financial situation. Morgan Stanley believes that the aviation industry is in the initial stage of structural recovery, and it is expected to usher in stable growth in the next few years, raising the target share price of American Airlines Group from $18 to $22, and maintaining the "overweight" rating.

In addition, airlines also give back to shareholders by buying back shares and paying dividends. For example, Delta Air Lines plans to buy back $2 billion worth of shares in the next two years, which shows its confidence in future cash flow.

In addition to the recovery of traditional markets, the growth potential of aviation demand in emerging markets is equally huge. According to IATA’s forecast, by 2035, the number of air passengers in the Asia-Pacific region will reach 3.5 billion, accounting for nearly 50% of the global total. Among them, China and Indian aviation markets are becoming the main sources of growth for international airlines.

Proofreading: Liu Xingying

　　According to the website of Shanxi Provincial Communications Department on June 9th, the Office of the Leading Group for Logistics Guarantee and Smooth Work in Shanxi Province and the Office of the Leading Group for Epidemic Prevention and Control in novel coronavirus, Shanxi Province have issued notices to further improve and optimize the inspection of vehicle epidemic prevention, cancel all the epidemic prevention checkpoints set up in the city, county (city, district) boundaries of ordinary highways in the province, and all highway toll stations are not allowed to restrict the passage of freight vehicles at will.

　　The notice requires that if an epidemic situation occurs locally in the province, an epidemic prevention checkpoint can be set up at the county (city, district) boundary where the epidemic situation occurs, but the epidemic-related counties (cities, districts) should report to the provincial leading group for logistics security and epidemic prevention and control for approval.

　　The notice also called for the full resumption of vehicle traffic. Highway toll stations that originally allowed freight vehicles to pass shall not restrict the passage of freight vehicles on the grounds of epidemic prevention and control. If it is necessary to restrict the passage of trucks, the county (city, district) shall report it for approval step by step; All epidemic prevention checkpoints shall not be persuaded to return on the grounds that the health code of bus drivers and passengers outside the province is red or yellow.

　　In order to further improve the traffic efficiency, the notice has optimized the passenger car epidemic prevention inspection process: the passenger car passing through the province and the epidemic prevention inspection point of the expressway toll station will directly release it according to the vehicle traffic information (license plate number, name and time of the entrance toll station, etc.) provided by the expressway toll station, and no longer check the "health code and communication itinerary card". For the passenger cars entering and returning to Shanxi from outside the province, the drivers and passengers scan the "Registration Code of Entry Quarantine Information", truthfully fill in the source, and classify and implement epidemic prevention and control measures. For those who have entered and returned to Shanxi from cities outside the province with no epidemic situation, after the first landing point nucleic acid detection and sampling, they are directly released and dynamically tracked.

　　According to the notice, all localities should earnestly strengthen organizational leadership, strictly implement the policies and requirements of provincial epidemic prevention and control, and ensure the smooth work. It is not allowed to increase the number of layers and introduce a "local policy" without authorization to ensure the province’s epidemic prevention and control and smooth work.

　　The Paper noted that recently, many provinces have requested to loosen traffic control.

　　For example, Liaoning proposed to improve the policy of ensuring smooth traffic and logistics. Effectively solve the problem of excessive traffic control in epidemic prevention and control, strictly implement the free inspection system for truck drivers at nucleic acid inspection points such as expressway service areas and toll stations, and withdraw all inspection points for epidemic prevention on ordinary highways. Completely cancel the epidemic prevention traffic restrictions on freight vehicles from low-risk areas, and do not block or close highways and ordinary roads without authorization. It is strictly forbidden to hard isolate county and rural roads, and it is forbidden to shut down expressway service areas, port terminals, railway stations, passenger stations and civil transport airports without authorization. It is strictly forbidden to restrict the normal flow of people in low-risk areas with epidemic situation. For freight vehicles coming from or entering or leaving the city where the epidemic is located in high-risk areas, the system of "taking them immediately and chasing them immediately" shall be strictly implemented, and closed-loop management measures such as reporting in advance and point-to-point transportation shall be implemented. It is strictly forbidden to overweight without authorization, so as to effectively guarantee traffic; For railway drivers and passengers coming from or entering or leaving the district (county) where the epidemic situation is high-risk, green closed-loop management, 48-hour negative nucleic acid test certificate or on-site inspection measures shall be implemented to ensure the crew.

　　Xinjiang proposes to improve the policy of ensuring smooth traffic and logistics. It is strictly forbidden to block or close highways, ordinary highways and highway service areas without authorization, and it is strictly forbidden to hard isolate county and rural roads. In addition to the passage into Xinjiang, we will resolutely ban the epidemic prevention checkpoints set up in the main lines and service areas of expressways, and completely cancel the epidemic prevention traffic restrictions on freight vehicles from low-risk areas. All unreasonable height restrictions will be abolished. While resolutely blocking the transmission channel of the virus, we should ensure the continuous traffic network, and implement the system of "taking, leaving and chasing" for freight vehicles coming from or entering and leaving the cities where the epidemic is in high-risk areas. Passenger and freight drivers and so on enjoy the policy of free nucleic acid testing in different places, and the results of nucleic acid testing are common throughout the country.

　　Students of Xinmiao Primary School in xuyong county, Sichuan are filming campus activities with their teachers’ mobile phones. Bright pictures/vision china

　　Go to school with your mobile phone, go home and chat with your classmates on WeChat, and send a circle of friends at any time … … Zhao Zhao, a fifth-grade student in a primary school in Beijing, only enjoyed the good day when his mobile phone never left his body for two weeks. During this period, the war with his mother escalated, and repeated nagging and resistance, and finally a total outbreak made Zhao Zhao lose the daily control of his mobile phone. "Weekends can be used within the specified time", and the mother and son rebuilt a harmonious relationship in mutual compromise. "But my addiction is still there. Who knows what challenges I will face after the temporary isolation?" Zhao Zhaoma said helplessly.

　　Helplessness, powerlessness and helplessness are the strongest feelings of many parents when dealing with the problem of "children and mobile phones". "The teacher built a class group and sent and received notices; The school community has established a community student group to exchange and discuss … … Even the children said that without a mobile phone, I didn’t know anything about what the students talked about in the WeChat group, so it was completely out of date. As a parent, do you want to give your child a mobile phone? But addicted to mobile phones and addicted to social networks, I really can’t bear the consequences. " Zhao Zhaoma is in a dilemma.

　　Small mobile phones pose a problem for adults. But with the rapid attack of new technologies, we have nowhere to hide.

　　According to the data released by China Youth Research Center recently, the proportion of "post-00" mobile phones is 64.6%, which is about eight times that of "post-90". "Mobile phone control", "low-headed family" and "screen-brushing family" are spreading to younger people. The research suggests that the media literacy training and education system should be moved down to the primary school curriculum system, and the family-oriented media literacy education should be emphasized.

　　Normalization of social networking, whether parents care or not?

　　Zhou Cheng, a "post-00" Changchun teenager who failed in the battle with his parents for a smart phone, was reluctant to take the "old man machine" when he went out to participate in wind music training on a snowy day. The smart phone once opened Zhou Cheng’s eyes, and he chatted with his classmates on WeChat in the middle of the night. As a result, his parents discovered it several times.

　　The survey shows that mobile phones have become a new entertainment tool for children, and nearly half (46.4%) of the "post-00" children log on to social software with their mobile phones, and their online social behavior tends to be normal, and their most frequent online behavior is socialization.

　　Huang Chuxin, director of the Journalism Research Office of the Institute of Journalism and Communication, China Academy of Social Sciences, concluded that the post-00 generation are more inclined to find information and make friends through the Internet, and they are afraid of being marginalized or excluded because they can’t use electronic products, which makes them more keen on the Internet and find a sense of belonging from the Internet, thus falling into a strange circle of making friends.

　　The reason why Zhou Cheng’s father, Zhou Haixin, doesn’t trust his son to use the smart phone is that he thinks that the child lacks the ability of analysis and judgment. "Now it is not uncommon to see naked photos in some online novels and game interfaces, and short yellow videos can also spread smoothly through WeChat, which makes people hard to prevent."

　　Many parents fall into such anxiety because they are unwilling to isolate their children from the internet and afraid that their children will be affected by bad information. In the WeChat group of parents of a key middle school in Beijing, a mother admitted that she had sneaked on her son’s mobile phone and found that some WeChat groups had extremely bad video content. She suggested that other parents help their children turn off some functions, such as adding friends through WeChat "shake".

　　The reporter’s investigation found that although most parents are ambivalent, there is really nothing they can do. Ms. Huang, who tried to manage her children’s use of WeChat, was blocked by her daughter. After the face-to-face protest, her daughter’s circle of friends was reopened to her mother. Ms. Huang is worried that if she interferes with children’s use of WeChat again, it will intensify contradictions. "Now, silence is the best response."

　　Absence of Media Literacy Education

　　In the new technological environment, when adults who are also immersed in the online world look to schools to manage their children, they find that there is almost no education for teenagers’ media literacy in the traditional education system.

　　In a classroom of a middle school in Xicheng District, Beijing, the reporter saw that nearly 30 mobile phones were locked in lockers, and almost all the students in this class had a mobile phone. In order to ensure normal teaching, the first thing students do when they arrive at school is to hand over their mobile phones, which will be kept by the life committee. When asked about the use of mobile phones, "getting notice of class activities", "chatting with classmates" and "buying stationery online" are common answers.

　　Born and raised in the information age, "post-00" people have stronger information sensitivity and demand than "post-90" and "post-95" since childhood. Yu Xiaobing, a teacher in the experimental middle school affiliated to Beijing Normal University, believes that the proportion of information technology in the curriculum has increased, and the network teaching platform and network search have been widely used, which has aggravated the dependence of children on the network.

　　A class teacher, Mr. Ma, told the reporter that students had been organized to discuss the use of mobile phones at class meetings, but the results were minimal. "Most of the time, it depends on the children’s consciousness." She admits that she is not clear about the meaning of media literacy.

　　How to use the media, how to interpret the media information rationally and critically, and how to develop their own abilities with the help of the media are considered to be the core contents of children’s media literacy. According to the reporter’s investigation, at present, media literacy education has not been widely carried out in primary and secondary schools in China, and this project has already started abroad. It is understood that in 2001, Japan set up "comprehensive education" in primary and secondary schools and introduced media literacy education courses. In 2002, Australia has passed laws to make media literacy education a regular education, and developed a complete media literacy education curriculum and teaching materials from kindergarten to the second grade of primary school. In Canada, it is stipulated that one tenth of the time must be spent on media literacy education in the classroom of students in grades 7 to 8.

　　Media literacy education needs overall planning.

　　Parents are helpless, and the school "does not move." Who will tell children how to use mobile phones correctly and contact the internet?

　　Zhou Haixin, a parent, finally bought a non-smart phone for his child to meet the basic communication needs. He said that this was a helpless choice, but it may also be the best way at this stage.

　　For this reason, the research group of China Youth Research Center suggested that parents of children should be taught media knowledge and skills to help parents better guide their children to use media. Experts advise parents to discuss the media content and use strategies in the dialogue with their children, share each other’s views and opinions, and cultivate children’s ability to identify media information and critically look at problems.

　　"Help children understand the quality of electronic products, rather than simply controlling the amount of electronic products used by children and explaining disturbing information to them." Huang Chuxin believes that books and television also contain knowledge, and parents should take the initiative to provide more diversified media combinations, so as to expand the channels for children to acquire knowledge and broaden their horizons.

　　In addition, Huang Chuxin suggested that "the overall plan of media literacy education should be formulated and included in the curriculum of primary and secondary schools". Compared with traditional subjects, media literacy course is a new product of the information age. Schools should set up media literacy courses according to their own educational resources and students’ acceptance level, or combine other courses to carry out teaching by means of infiltration education.

　　But it is followed by another problem: teachers. It is understood that Dr. Zhang Jie from the Communication Research Institute of Communication University of China and his team have conducted many teacher trainings all over the country, but the results are not satisfactory. "There is a serious shortage of teachers who can teach media literacy education courses, which cannot meet the needs of implementing media literacy education courses in more schools."

　　When it is not included in the overall teaching plan and lacks a unified teaching system structure, it is difficult to start cultivating teachers with media literacy. Another set of data is worrying. According to the 38th Statistical Report on Internet Development in China, as of June 2016, the number of netizens in China reached 710 million, and the Internet penetration rate reached 51.7%, which exceeded the global average by 3.1 percentage points. Obviously, in the face of the rapid development of network technology, media literacy education for children is urgent and essential. We, we have to act now.

　　(Reporter Chen Peng)