American Airlines grounds flights nationwide as holiday travel surges

American Airlines briefly grounded all flights nationwide due to a technical issue just as the busy Christmas travel season began. The Federal Aviation Administration lifted the ground stop about an hour later, but delays and cancellations followed. There were 1,447 flight delays and 28 cancellations early in the day, with major disruptions at Dallas-Fort Worth and New York airports. The holiday travel period is expected to see high passenger volumes, with the Transportation Security Administration screening 40 million travelers. This holiday season marks the first since a new rule requires airlines to automatically refund customers for canceled or significantly delayed flights. Many travelers are expected to drive, with gas prices similar to last year.