Flights at Santa Barbara Airport grounded as part of national stoppage

Flights at the Santa Barbara airport have been grounded as part of a national ground stoppage by the Federal Aviation Administration. All flights are grounded right now, said Santa Barbara City Administrator Kelly McAdoo. Currently four aircraft are unable to leave, 1 Delta plane, 2 United planes, and 1 American Airlines plane. McAdoo said there were other flights scheduled inbound, and that depending on length of stoppage, that number will grow. The FAA put out a release that said all flights have been grounded due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety. The statement said there was a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers, and that FAA technicians are investigating the problem. It was a confusing scene at the Santa Barbara Airport Friday afternoon. Antar Abderrahman, from Ventura, who was sending off his girlfriend on a flight to Vegas, was looking up at the flight dashboard to see when her plane was takin