Flight delays impacting holiday travelers at Springfield-Branson National Airport

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Many air travelers trying to make it home for Christmas were met with delays this Christmas Eve.

Tuesday morning, American Airlines requested a nationwide grounding, citing technical issues. Those delays impacted flights to and from Springfield, with some travelers not landing until hours later than expected.

One person at the Springfield-Branson National Airport says once he heard of the delays, he came to the airport to make sure his brother would be home in time for Christmas.

"Our early report was the delays were going to affect their flight. So I actually came to the airport early to find out if there were some changes," says Johnathan Graham, who is in the Ozarks visiting family this holiday season.

Fortunately, as the day went on, he got some good news.

"They are at the gate in Atlanta and supposedly everything's moving well, but all the flights around them are being delayed," says Graham.

This morning, American Airlines flights were grounded across the country for about an hour. The airline explained that the system used to release flights was having issues. These problems, combined with less-than-ideal weather conditions, created headaches for travelers around the country.

"We were supposed to leave at 2:55 and I think we left it like 3:22, 3:25," explained the Coble family.

While traveling on Christmas Eve isn't always ideal, the Cobles say it can come with some perks.

"It seemed like half the plane was full. So it was like, 'Wow, this is great, I'm gonna fly Christmas Eve all the time,' because there was nobody on there. We could have all [of] the row."

Graham says he flies a lot and delays are very stressful, but placing blame is never the answer.

"I think any time there's a delay, don't blame it on the airlines, it's a weather problem," says Graham. "And oftentimes [when] I'm traveling a lot, I see people go crazy at the airport, take it out on airport staff."