FAA Reopens El Paso Airspace After Brief Grounding Linked to Drone Incursion

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a temporary closure of airspace over El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, allowing all commercial, cargo, and general aviation flights to resume. The reversal came just hours after the agency had issued a surprise 10-day grounding order for "special security reasons," which had designated the region as national defense airspace and authorized the use of "deadly force" against non-compliant aircraft. The FAA stated that there is no longer a threat to commercial aviation and operations have returned to normal.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the FAA and the Department of War acted to address a "cartel drone incursion" that breached U.S. airspace. According to Duffy, the threat was neutralized, though officials did not specify the number of drones involved or the specific methods used to disable them. Former CIA paramilitary officer Mick Mulroy noted that electronic warfare is the primary means of counter-drone activity and poses risks to civilian aviation, which may have necessitated the total ground stop to ensure safety.

Alternative explanations for the closure have emerged from industry and legislative sources. Anonymous officials reported that the grounding may have been prompted by the Department of Defense testing counter-drone technologies, including high-energy lasers, at nearby Fort Bliss without providing sufficient safety coordination to the FAA. Representative Rick Larsen criticized the incident as an example of military overreach, suggesting the Pentagon did not adequately consider the safety of the flying public during its testing.

Local leadership expressed significant concern over the lack of coordination, noting that the grounding was implemented with less than an hour of notice to municipal officials and air traffic controllers. El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson confirmed that medical evacuation flights were forced to divert to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and described the disruption as the most significant since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum disputed the U.S. administration's claims, stating that the Mexican government has no information regarding drone use at the border.