The Federal Aviation Administration reopened airspace around Texas’ El Paso International Airport on Wednesday morning, hours after announcing a 10-day shutdown that would halt all arrivals and departures.
Passengers line up at El Paso International Airport (REUTERS)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,” the AP reported.
He also said that normal flight operations have started from 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 hours earlier for “special security reasons”, was expected to cause significant disruption due to its planned duration and the size of the metropolitan area.
What happened?El Paso, a border city with a population of about 700,000 and significantly more with a sprawling metro area, serves as a key hub for cross-border trade in Mexico, along with neighboring Ciudad Juarez. The brief closure did not extend into Mexican airspace.
In an Instagram post issued after announcing the restrictions, the airport said all flights would be grounded from late Tuesday to late February 20, affecting commercial, cargo and general aviation traffic.
Passengers were advised to contact their airlines for updated flight information.
Veronica Escobar, a Democrat who represents the district including El Paso, called on the FAA to lift the restrictions in a statement Wednesday morning. He said his office, the city of El Paso and the airport authority were not notified in advance.
“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.”
