El Paso, TX (KKOB) – Flights are now in full operation in El Paso after the FAA shutdown airspace at the El Paso airport and the Santa Teresa airport in Doña Ana County overnight. The FAA put out the order around 11:30 p.m. Mountain Time Tuesday night, saying it would remain in effect until February 20th. The order was lifted before 7 a.m. Mountain Time. El Paso leaders as well as members of Congress from El Paso and southern New Mexico have expressed their concerns over the FAA decision which was done without notification to city government or the El Paso Airport prior to making the announcement. No explanation from the FAA was given other than saying it was due to “special security reasons”
The Trump administration, is saying the closure of the airspace was due to drones that crossed the border from Mexico and belonged to Mexican drug cartels and that the Defense Department took action to disable the drones. No word on how many drones were involved. Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy posted on X that the FAA and Defense Department “acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion” El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson during a morning press conference stated, “this unnecessary decision, has caused chaos and confusion in the El Paso community. This should have never happened. You cannot restrict airspace over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership. That failure to communicate is unacceptable.” According to the U.S Census, El Paso is the 23rd largest city in the United States.
See the video of the El Payo Mayor’s press conference:
