Weather, airport delays disrupt Americans’ Christmas travel

Millions of Americans across the United States are bracing for severe weather conditions during the Christmas holiday season, with storms threatening to further disrupt one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

Up and down the East Coast, the first storm of the winter blanketed cities from Boston to Baltimore with ice and snow.

Meanwhile, California residents are cleaning up after a storm that brought hurricane-force winds, flooding and high surf on Monday and killed one man.

The weather events are further complicating travel plans for America, which is already facing flight delays following a grounding of American Airlines flights due to a technology issue.

On the East Coast, winter precipitation is expected to affect travel for many as heavy snow falls in areas such as Boston and New York, while Baltimore and Washington DC braced for precipitation and ice.

On the West Coast, Monday’s storm caused a pier to collapse, throwing three people into the Pacific Ocean.

Waves from that storm reached 60 feet (18 m) and forced some evacuations. Flood and high surf warnings remain in effect Tuesday.

Weather isn’t the only thing affecting holiday travel on Tuesday, with technology issues adding further stress as millions of Americans rush to their destinations.

Early Tuesday, American Airlines flights were grounded after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a “nationwide ground stop” due to a “supplier technology issue.”

The ground stop was lifted about an hour after it began and flights resumed, but not without creating a wave of delays.

Delays were expected to continue into the day on Tuesday with some departures taking off two hours after they were scheduled.

American Airlines apologized for the inconvenience and said: “It’s all hands on deck as our team works hard to get customers where they need to go as quickly as possible”.

While many morning flights were delayed Tuesday, most afternoon flights are scheduled to depart on time.