US EditionFAA Lifts 10-Day El Paso Airspace Closure Hours After Announcement
The FAA cited national defense concerns for the 10-day closure but lifted restrictions hours later, after no threat was found; airport served 3.49 million passengers in 2025.
- On Feb. 11, the Federal Aviation Administration abruptly lifted a planned 10-day closure of El Paso International Airport hours after halting flights for `Special Security Reasons`.
- Separately, a government official told NBC News that a Trump administration official said Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace, and the Defense Department disabled them, while the FAA did not explain the restrictions.
- LiveATC.net recorded an air traffic control exchange showing El Paso air traffic controller notified staff about 30 minutes to an hour before the restriction, saying, `Just be advised I guess there’s a TFR going into effect.`
- Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said the airport closure was `highly consequential` and `unprecedented`, with no notice given to her office, the City of El Paso, or local airport operations, warning the economic hit `could be $40-50 million or more`.
- El Paso International handled 3.49 million passengers in the first 11 months of 2025 and serves major U.S. carriers including Southwest, Delta, United and American, near Ciudad Juárez.
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Daily Record
The Latest: Trump administration ties El Paso airspace closure to Mexican cartel drones
The Federal Aviation Administration has reopened the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas, just hours after it announced a 10-day closure that would have grounded all flights to and from the airport. The FAA announced in a social…
White House Responds After Taking Out Mexican Cartel Drones In U.S. Airspace - Real News Now
Flights were briefly halted at El Paso International Airport this week after the Biden administration authorized military action to disable drones linked to Mexican drug cartels operating in U.S. airspace. The White House confirmed the incident Wednesday after the FAA abruptly lifted a 10-day flight restriction that had caused widespread concern across the region. “Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace. The Department of War took action t…
“There is no information on the use of cartel drones at the border,” was President Claudia Sheinbaum’s response to the U.S. government’s decision to temporarily shut down Texas airspace. Earlier, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) closed operations at El Paso International Airport. The unit justified the measure for “special security reasons,” although it did not abound any more in the reasons. Minutes later, the AP news agency published, with te…
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