MIAMI – A powerful winter storm is disrupting holiday travel across large swaths of the United States this Christmas Eve, blanketing states from Massachusetts to Wisconsin, Michigan, and New York in snow.
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The storm has caused major headaches for travelers, with icy conditions snarling traffic on interstates and delays reported at some of the nation’s busiest airports.”
“After five hours, they fully canceled the flight,” said Taylor Shute, a holiday traveler.
Another traveler, Jaisel Alagiri, shared a similar experience, saying, “Everybody just gets a text message like flight canceled.”
Adding to the disruptions, American Airlines faced a technical issue Tuesday morning, prompting the airline to request a 90-minute ground stop from the Federal Aviation Administration for all its flights. The ground stop was lifted just before 8 a.m., and operations have since resumed.
Meanwhile, holiday travelers at Miami International Airport are noticing upgrades that could ease future travel.
MIA Director Ralph Cutie gave Local 10 News an exclusive tour of recent improvements, including repairs to people movers, elevators, and escalators. After years of neglect left 15% of these devices out of service, only 5% now require repair or replacement.
In addition to these upgrades, modernized bathrooms and ticket counters are being constructed, a welcome change for the 7.85 million Americans AAA projects will travel by air this holiday season.