Texas Airport Closed Amid Reports of Mexican Cartel Drone Activity

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on social media that the temporary airspace closure over El Paso has now been removed.

The Federal Aviation Administration reopened the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday morning. The announcement followed a 10-day closure that would have halted all flights to and from the airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a social media post that it had temporarily closed the airspace over El Paso, adding that 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 Defense Department “acted quickly to address the cartel’s drone attack. The threat is over, and there is no threat to commercial travel in the area.”

He said normal flights were resuming Wednesday morning. He did not specify how many drones were involved or what specifically was done to disable them.

The shutdown, announced just hours earlier for “special security reasons,” was expected to cause significant disruptions given the timing and size of the metropolitan area.

El Paso, a border city with a population of approximately 700,000, is even larger when you include the surrounding metro area. It is a hub for cross-border commerce along with the neighboring Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez.

This brief 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, including commercial, cargo, and general aviation flights, will be suspended from late Tuesday night until late February 20th.

It advised passengers to contact their airline for up-to-date flight information.

Democratic Representative Veronica Escobar, whose district includes El Paso, urged the FAA to lift the restrictions in a statement Wednesday morning.

He said his office, the city of El Paso, or airport operations was not given any prior notice.

Escobar said, “The FAA’s decision to close El Paso Airport for 10 days is a significant decision never before made and has caused significant concern in the community.”

“Based on the information my office and I received overnight and this morning, there is currently no threat to the community or surrounding areas.”

The airport bills itself as the gateway to West Texas, southern New Mexico, and northern Mexico. Southwest, United, American, and Delta all operate flights there.

Around the same time, flights were also temporarily suspended around Santa Teresa, New Mexico, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of El Paso Airport, due to specific security concerns.

Southwest Airlines said in a statement that it had suspended all flights to and from El Paso at the FAA’s direction.

“We have notified affected customers and will share more information as soon as we have it,” Southwest Airlines said. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”