The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted the temporary closure of the airport in El Paso at the border with Mexico. Air traffic will now operate as normal after all flights were canceled at short notice earlier on Wednesday.
– There is nothing that poses a threat to commercial flights, writes the FAA.
The closure was initially announced to last until February 21 for “safety reasons”, without the FAA providing an official elaboration.
According to an anonymous official who has spoken to Reuters, the measure is due to drones belonging to drug cartels having violated American airspace.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy subsequently confirmed that the US Department of Defense was responding to an airspace violation by cartel drones.
Sources in the airlines tell the news agency that the restrictions are probably linked to the Pentagon’s use of anti-drone technology against these drones in the border area.
The New York Times also writes this.
The flight ban also included certain adjacent areas in Mexico. The measure led to the grounding of flights from companies such as American Airlines and Southwest, and thousands of passengers were stranded as a result of the unexpected stoppage.
In January, the FAA issued a warning about military activity in the airspace over Mexico and Central America after the attack on Venezuela, but this warning has now been lifted at the same time as the restrictions in El Paso have been removed.
The airport itself confirmed on Instagram that all flights in and out of the airport had been cancelled.
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date:2026-02-11 16:23:00
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