The Federal Aviation Administration reopened airspace around Texas’ El Paso International Airport on Wednesday morning, hours after announcing a 10-day closure that would have grounded all flights to and from the airport.
Passengers line up in El Paso, Texas, USA, in El Paso, Texas, on February 11, 2026, after the US Federal Aviation Administration lifted the temporary closure of airspace in El Paso, and all flights will resume as normal and there is no threat to commercial aviation.The Federal Aviation Administration said in a social media post that it had lifted the temporary closure of airspace over El Paso, saying there was no threat to commercial aviation and that all flights would resume.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that the FAA and the Department of Defense “acted quickly to address a cartel drone intrusion. The threat has been neutralized and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.”
He said, normal flights are starting from Wednesday morning.
He did not say how many drones were involved or what specifically was done to disable them.
The shutdown, announced hours earlier for “special security reasons”, was expected to cause significant disruption due to its duration and the size of the metropolitan area.
El Paso, a border city of about 700,000 people and when you include the surrounding metro area, is a center of cross-border trade in Mexico, along with the neighboring city of Ciudad Juarez. Short closure does not include Mexican airspace.
The airport said in an Instagram post after announcing the closure that all flights to and from the airport will be grounded from late Tuesday until the end of February 20, including commercial, cargo and general aviation flights. It advised travelers to contact their airlines for up-to-date flight information.
Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes El Paso, called on the FAA to lift the ban in a statement Wednesday morning. No advance notice was given to his office, the city of El Paso or airport operations, he said.
“The highly consequential decision by the FAA to close the El Paso airport for 10 days is unprecedented and has caused significant concern in the community,” Escobar said. “From what my office and I were able to gather overnight and this morning there is no immediate threat to the community or the surrounding area.”
The airport describes itself as the gateway to West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Mexico. Southwest, United, American and Delta all operate flights there, among others.
A similar temporary flight ban was imposed in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of the El Paso airport, due to special security concerns.
Southwest Airlines said in a statement that it has suspended all operations to and from El Paso at the direction of the FAA.
“We have notified affected customers and will share additional information as it becomes available,” Southwest Airlines said. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of its customers and employees.”
