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US briefly shuts down El Paso airspace in Texas, blames Mexican cartel drone activity
In a social media update, the Federal Aviation Administration said it had lifted the temporary closure over El Paso.
The United States' Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) briefly shut the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday morning, only hours after announcing a 10-day shutdown that would have halted all arrivals and departures.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that the FAA and the Defense Department “acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region", AP reported.
He added that normal flight operations were resuming Wednesday morning.
In a social media update, the Federal Aviation Administration said it had lifted the temporary closure over El Paso, adding that there was no threat to commercial aviation and that flights would resume.
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The shutdown announced just hours earlier “for special security reasons” was expected to cause notable disruption, given its planned duration and the size of the metropolitan area.
What happened?
El Paso, a border city with a population of nearly 700,000, and significantly more when including the wider metro area, serves as a key center of cross-border commerce alongside neighboring Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. The brief closure did not extend to Mexican airspace.
In an Instagram post issued after the restrictions were announced, the airport said all flights would be grounded from late Tuesday through late February 20, affecting commercial, cargo and general aviation operations.
Travelers were advised to contact their airlines for updated flight information.
Veronica Escobar, a Democrat representing the district that includes El Paso, called on the FAA to lift the restrictions in a statement Wednesday morning. She said her office, the city of El Paso and airport authorities were given no advance notice.
“The highly consequential decision by FAA to shut down the El Paso Airport for 10 days is unprecedented and has resulted in significant concern within the community,” Escobar said.
“From what my office and I have been able to gather overnight and early this morning there is no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas.”
