American Airlines Temporarily Grounds Flights Nationwide Amid Holiday Travel Rush
WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide on Tuesday due to a technical issue, disrupting travel plans just as the busy Christmas travel season ramps up. The situation was further complicated by winter weather threatening delays for travelers across the country.
Federal regulators lifted the national ground stop about an hour after it was issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, allowing American Airlines flights to resume.
By early Tuesday, there were 1,447 delays for flights entering or leaving the U.S., along with 28 cancellations. Snowfall in New York and rain at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport—American Airlines' main hub—added to the challenges.
Dallas-Fort Worth experienced the most delays, followed by major airports in Charlotte, North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; New York; Chicago; and Miami.
While the holiday travel season spans several weeks, spreading out peak days, the cumulative effect of one hectic day after another strains flight crews and operations. Any disruptions—like winter storms or technical outages—can quickly escalate into widespread travel chaos.
That's how Southwest Airlines left 2 million travelers stranded in December 2022, while Delta Air Lines faced a smaller yet notable disruption in July after a global technology outage caused by a faulty software update from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
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