American Airlines grounds flights nationwide due to technical issue during holiday travel rush

American Airlines briefly grounded all flights in the U.S. due to a technical issue, just as the busy Christmas travel season begins. 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. Most travelers are expected to drive, with highway travel times projected to be 30% longer than usual.