The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) abruptly closed the airspace over El Paso, Texas, for several hours on Feb. 11 due to an alleged drone breach by the Mexican Cartel, leading to a temporary grounding of flights and drawback from local officials who were upset for not being given advanced notice.
The original restriction announced by the FAA was effective from Feb. 10 at 11:30 P.M. to Feb. 20 at 11:30 P.M., a 10-day closure for the border city.
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the airspace’s closure, while also affirming that the FAA and the Department of War acted urgently to address the “cartel drone incursion.”
“The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region. The restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming,” Duffy wrote in a statement via X.
Hours later, it was revealed that the shutdown resulted from the Pentagon’s plans to test a laser designed to disable Cartel drones. Even though a meeting was scheduled in late February between the FAA and the Pentagon, the department still went ahead with its trial, leading the FAA to temporarily close airspace operations.
Before the revealing information was provided by anonymous sources to the Associated Press, the Pentagon released a statement, stating, “Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace. The Department of War took action to disable the drones. The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel.”
The restriction was lifted at around 7 A.M. on Feb. 11, reducing the closure from 10 days to approximately 7 hours.
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson expressed his dissent during a press conference, informing the public that he was not alerted to the closure until after the notice was issued, deeming the failure in communication to the city unacceptable.
“Decisions made without notice and coordination puts lives at risk and creates unnecessary danger and confusion,” Johnson said. “This was a major and unnecessary disruption, one that has not occurred since 9/11.”
