The skies over El Paso were temporarily closed after the Federal Aviation Agency posted a notice of a 10-day closure of airspace over the city “for security reasons.”
On Tuesday, the FAA posted a “temporary flight restriction” order on its website on Tuesday that stated a 10-nautical-mile (11.50 miles) circle up to 18,000 feet (3.4 miles) around the El Paso International Airport would be off limits for all commercial, cargo and general aviation flights.
The order stated that “No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered,” and the closure would remain in place until Feb. 20. The notice also warned that the government “may use deadly force” if the notice was violated.
The notice was abruptly lifted by Wednesday morning - after the ensuing chaos in which airlines, politicians and tens of thousands of travelers were caught off guard - when the FFA posted on X that the order had been lifted.
Numerous conflicting narratives arose as to why the airspace was closed, with some citing security concerns for the abrupt closure and even more for the sudden reversal.
The New York Times, citing a source familiar with this shutdown, said the airspace closure was due to testing of anti-drone technology. CBS News reported that sources said the closure was due to FAA and Pentagon disagreements over “drone-related tests” involving a high-energy laser. Additionally, CBS reported that the technology was deployed to shoot down what was thought to be foreign drones, but the airborne object was a party balloon, indicating it was brought down.
Texas congresswoman for El Paso, Vernonica Escobar, took issue with the drone claim and said it was not the information that Congress had been given and said the Trump administration’s claims didn’t add up.
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, reported there was no information regarding drone use at the border and said if the FAA or any US government agency has any information, they can ask the Mexican government. She noted that Mexico’s airspace wasn’t closed, only Texas’ – and they were going to find out why.
El Paso International Airport is located four miles northeast of downtown El Paso and is the busiest commercial airport serving West Texas, Southern New Mexico and North Central Mexico.