FAA lifts closure of airspace over El Paso that had been enacted for ‘particular safety causes’

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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration referred to as down a discover Wednesday halting all flights to and from El Paso Worldwide Airport in Texas a number of hours after it mentioned they had been being stopped for "particular safety causes."

The airport, which is subsequent to the U.S. navy's Biggs Military Airfield and sits over the border from the Mexican metropolis of Juarez, initially mentioned in a submit on Instagram that every one flights had been grounded from simply earlier than midnight on Feb. 11 for a 10-day interval.

Shortly earlier than 9 a.m. ET Wednesday, the FAA mentioned the airspace closure over El Paso had been lifted.

"There is no such thing as a risk to industrial aviation. All flights will resume as regular," the federal company mentioned in a submit on social media.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned on social media that the FAA and Division of Defence "acted swiftly to deal with a cartel drone incursion."

Duffy mentioned the risk was "neutralized," with out offering specifics.

<img loading="lazy" alt="Several people are shown walking through a roped-off line inside an airport. " srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9ca62431-3c1b-4680-8ad8-16fbd6c46754,1770826071001/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5500%2C3667%29%3BResize%3D796 796w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9ca62431-3c1b-4680-8ad8-16fbd6c46754,1770826071001/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5500%2C3667%29%3BResize%3D1083 1083w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9ca62431-3c1b-4680-8ad8-16fbd6c46754,1770826071001/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5500%2C3667%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) calc(100vw - 32px),730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/9ca62431-3c1b-4680-8ad8-16fbd6c46754,1770826071001/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5500%2C3667%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.4998636487592036" data-cy="image-img"/> Passengers queue at El Paso Worldwide Airport after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lifted its non permanent closure, on Wednesday. (Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters) Airline sources had earlier instructed Reuters the grounding was believed to be tied to the Pentagon's use of counterdrone know-how to deal with Mexican drug cartels' use of drones on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Democratic lawmakers questioned the administration's clarification, and why there was a necessity for a 10-day measure.

"The assertion by the administration that this shutdown was linked to a Mexican cartel drone that got here into U.S. airspace — that's not my understanding," mentioned Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose congressional district encompasses El Paso.

Escobar mentioned she spoke to an unidentified federal authorities worker however was restricted in what she may share at this level.

"These of us who dwell in El Paso seemingly have recognized that there have been drone incursions from Mexico going again to so long as drones existed," she mentioned.

Mexican president unaware of U.S. claims When requested in regards to the non permanent suspension, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum mentioned on Wednesday she had no data of drones getting used on the border with United States.

Sheinbaum mentioned Mexican defence and navy secretaries will meet with U.S. Northern Command officers in Washington on Wednesday in a gathering attended by a number of different nations.

Sheinbaum mentioned the Mexican officers would "pay attention" within the assembly.

"They aren't taking any place apart from the one we already know, which is the defence of sovereignty," she mentioned.

El Paso, with a inhabitants of about 680,000 folks, is the Twenty third-largest metropolis within the U.S. The airport there dealt with 3.49 million passengers within the first 11 months of 2025, in accordance with its web site, together with travellers flying with all the key U.S. airways reminiscent of Southwest, Delta, United and American.

Closing the airspace over an American metropolis is extraordinarily uncommon, however notably befell countrywide within the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, assaults.

"Medical evacuation flights had been pressured to divert to Las Cruces," El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson mentioned at a Wednesday morning information convention. "All aviation operations had been grounded, together with emergency flights. This was a serious and pointless disruption, one which has not occurred since 9/11."

In mid-January, the FAA warned airways to train warning when flying over Mexico, Central America and components of South America, citing the dangers of potential navy actions.

Tensions between the U.S. and regional leaders have ramped up because the Trump administration mounted a large-scale navy buildup within the southern Caribbean, attacked Venezuela and seized its president, Nicolás Maduro, in a navy operation.

U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned in January that drug cartels had been working Mexico and urged that the U.S. may strike land targets to fight them, certainly one of a collection of threats to deploy U.S. navy drive in opposition to cartels that date again to his 2024 presidential marketing campaign.