FAA Abruptly Closes El Paso Airspace Over 'Cartel Drone' Threat, Then Reverses Course Hours Later

The Federal Aviation Administration created chaos at one of America's busiest border airports Wednesday, abruptly grounding all flights at El Paso International Airport for 10 days citing unspecified "special security reasons" — only to reverse the decision hours later amid conflicting explanations and sharp criticism from local officials.

The FAA posted a temporary flight restriction notice late Tuesday evening, declaring that a 10-nautical-mile radius around the El Paso airport would be off-limits to all commercial, cargo, and general aviation flights until February 20. The notice warned that the government "may use deadly force" against aircraft that violated the order.

But by Wednesday morning, the agency abruptly lifted the restriction. "There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal," the FAA announced on social media, leaving travelers, airlines, and local officials scrambling for answers about what had prompted such an extraordinary measure — and why it was rescinded so quickly.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy offered one explanation on X, formerly Twitter, stating that the FAA and Department of Defense "acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion." Duffy claimed the threat had been "neutralized" and there was "no danger to commercial travel in the region."

However, that narrative was immediately challenged by multiple sources. Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes El Paso, said the drone explanation did not match what Congress had been told. "There was not a threat, which is why the FAA lifted this restriction so quickly," Escobar told reporters. "The information coming from the federal government does not add up."

According to three people familiar with the situation who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, the airspace closure stemmed from a dispute between the FAA and Pentagon over plans to test a high-energy laser designed to shoot down drones used by Mexican drug cartels. The Pentagon wanted to proceed with testing despite a meeting scheduled later this month to coordinate with the FAA on safety protocols.

CBS News added another layer of complexity, reporting that the laser technology had already been deployed earlier this week to shoot down what were believed to be foreign drones — only to discover they were party balloons.

The conflicting accounts have left El Paso officials furious about the lack of communication. Mayor Renard Johnson called the closure a "major and unnecessary disruption" and said the failure to coordinate with local authorities was "unacceptable." Johnson noted that such a sweeping airspace restriction had not occurred since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"You cannot restrict air space over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership," Johnson said at a news conference. "Decisions made without notice and coordination puts lives at risk and creates unnecessary danger and confusion."

The closure blindsided travelers and airlines alike. Audio recordings from air traffic control captured the confusion in real-time. An arriving Southwest pilot, informed by controllers about the impending 10-day shutdown, can be heard chuckling in disbelief: "So the airport is totally closed?" The controller replied: "Apparently, we just got informed about 30 minutes to an hour ago."

El Paso International Airport serves nearly 3.5 million passengers annually and operates direct flights across the United States through Southwest, American, Delta, United, and Frontier Airlines. The 10-day closure would have disrupted approximately 1,300 scheduled departures, according to aviation data firm Cirium.

The airport sits just 12 miles from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, a metropolitan area of 1.5 million people with deep cross-border economic and family ties. Many residents regularly use airports on both sides of the border, and the sudden closure created immediate panic among travelers.

María Aracelia, who was crossing the pedestrian bridge from Ciudad Juárez with two suitcases Wednesday morning, described receiving a text at 4 a.m. about the closure. "This is stressful and there isn't time to make so many changes, especially if you need to get back for work," she told reporters.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum added to the confusion, stating she had "no information about the use of drones on the border" and suggesting U.S. authorities should contact the Mexican government if they had credible intelligence. "Mexico's airspace wasn't closed — Texas's airspace was closed," Sheinbaum noted. "We're going to find out exactly why."

While drone incursions along the southern border are not new — Homeland Security officials testified last year that more than 27,000 drones were detected near the border in just six months — the decision to close an entire metropolitan airspace remains unprecedented. Security experts note that temporary flight restrictions are typically issued for natural disasters, major sporting events, or presidential visits, not for border security operations.

As of Wednesday afternoon, a similar 10-day flight restriction remained in place around Santa Teresa, New Mexico, approximately 15 miles northwest of El Paso. The FAA did not explain why that restriction was still active while the El Paso closure was lifted.

The incident has sparked bipartisan calls for investigation. Democratic Senator Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico demanded answers from the FAA about "why the airspace was closed in the first place without notifying appropriate officials, leaving travelers to deal with unnecessary chaos." Republican Representative Tony Gonzales, whose district covers 800 miles of Texas border, acknowledged that cartel drone activity was routine but questioned the handling of the closure.

For the thousands of travelers whose plans were disrupted, the rapid reversal offered little comfort. As Southwest Airlines resumed operations Wednesday morning, passengers were left wondering what had really happened — and whether it could happen again.