AAL Stock Price: American Airlines Group inc continues to struggle amidst ongoing lockdowns from COVID-19

NASDAQ:AAL has entered 2021 just as it spent most of 2020, battered and beat down amidst near-global travel restrictions due to the novel coronavirus and the ongoing pandemic. On Monday, American Airlines traded mostly flat as the stock shed 0.86% to close the first trading session of the week at $15.00. Shares have been trending lower as the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to spike around the United States, and is now trading below its 50-day moving average. The long-time foundational airline brand of the United States has now lost nearly 45% over the past 52-weeks. 

The airline industry was rattled over the weekend as another Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 crashed into the Java Sea after shortly taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia. While the crash at first report was not connected to the ongoing issues that Boeing has faced with its beleaguered 737 Max plane, the optics are still not promising for an industry that has already taken enough punishment from the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year. Boeing’s stock was down slightly by 1.48% as the markets opened following the most recent crash.

AAL stock chart

American Airlines is just one of the companies that are at the center of concerns about domestic terrorism ahead of the upcoming inauguration ceremony for President-elect Biden. Reports of a pilot already threatening to land a place because of MAGA activists on board an American Airlines plane as well as a separate report over banning an anti-mask protester has the company concerned for the safety of Americans during this tumultuous time.