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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reopened the airspace over El Paso International Airport in Texas, just hours after initially declaring a 10-day closure that threatened to halt all flights to and from the airport.
The FAA announced via social media that it has rescinded the temporary airspace closure over El Paso. The agency assured the public that there is no ongoing threat to commercial aviation, allowing all flights to proceed as scheduled.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed on X, formerly known as Twitter, that both the FAA and the Department of Defense acted swiftly in response to a cartel drone incursion. He assured the public that the threat has been neutralized, eliminating any risk to commercial travel in the area.
Normal flight operations were set to resume Wednesday morning, according to Duffy’s statement.
Details regarding the number of drones involved or the specific measures taken to neutralize them were not disclosed.
The shutdown announced just hours earlier “for special security reasons” had been expected to create significant disruptions given the duration and the size of the metropolitan area.
El Paso, a border city with a population of nearly 700,000 people and larger when you include the surrounding metro area, is hub of cross-border commerce alongside the neighboring city of Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. The brief closure does not include Mexican airspace.
The airport said in an Instagram post after the closure was announced that all flights to and from the airport would be grounded from late Tuesday through late on Feb. 20, including commercial, cargo and general aviation flights. It suggested travelers contact their airlines to get up-to-date flight information.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes El Paso, had urged the FAA to lift the restrictions in a statement Wednesday morning. There was no advance notice given to her office, the city of El Paso or airport operations, she said.
“The highly consequential decision by FAA to shut down the El Paso Airport for 10 days is unprecedented and has resulted in significant concern within the community,” Escobar said. “From what my office and I have been able to gather overnight and early this morning there is no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas.”
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 restriction for special security reasons over the same time period was imposed around Santa Teresa, New Mexico, which is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of the El Paso airport.
Southwest Airlines said in a statement that it has paused 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.”