Last updated Wednesday, February 11 at 12:15 p.m. EST.
The FAA on Wednesday morning abruptly lifted a temporary flight restriction (TFR) for airspace in El Paso, Texas, which officials said came as a surprise to local governments, airport leadership, and air traffic controllers (ATCs), including those at the Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center.
“There is no threat to commercial aviation,” the agency said in a statement. “All flights will resume as normal.”
The New York Times on Wednesday reported that the shutdown was due to U.S. military testing of counter-uncrewed aircraft systems (C-UAS) technology at nearby Fort Bliss (KBIF), per a source.
Moments later, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA and Pentagon “acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion,” adding that the “threat has been neutralized.”
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Representative Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso in the U.S. House of Representatives, said Duffy’s explanation did not align with the “information that we in Congress have been told.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also disputed the reason for the shutdown, saying the country’s government has no knowledge of such an incursion, per the Times.
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson in a news conference said that medical evacuation flights were diverted about 45 miles away to Las Cruces, New Mexico, and shipments of medical equipment were delayed while the TFR was active. Johnson called the lack of communication around the restrictions “unacceptable” and said it could “put lives at risk and create unnecessary danger and confusion.”
“This was a major and unnecessary disruption, one that has not occurred since 9/11,” he said.
The FAA on Tuesday issued a near-identical TFR for a swath of airspace over Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The agency did not address that closure, which Escobar said remains in effect, in its statement Wednesday morning. Escobar said she knew the reason for the restriction but did not provide it.
‘Fear and Speculation’
Chris Canales, the city council representative for El Paso’s District 8, wrote on Reddit that the FAA did not inform civilian or military leaders about the airspace closure, which fueled “fear and speculation in our community.” Calling the FAA’s System Operations Support Center, listed as the point of contact for inquiries about the TFR, also yielded no explanation, Canales wrote.
“Army seems to be fretting about their flights tomorrow just as much as everyone else,” Canales wrote in another comment.
Canales estimated that the TFR—which would have barred all flight operations in the airspace around El Paso International Airport (KELP) for 10 days due to national security reasons—could have cost the city “$40-50 million or more.”
“All flights to and from El Paso are grounded, including commercial, cargo, and general aviation,” the airport wrote in a statement Wednesday morning.
The closure evidently came as a surprise to United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, two of the airport’s largest tenants. Both airlines posted travel alerts informing flyers about the TFR, with United issuing travel waivers and Southwest offering to reschedule bookings or refund customers.
Escobar called the restrictions “unprecedented” and urged the FAA to lift them in a social media post.
“From what my office and I have been able to gather overnight and early this morning there is no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas,” Escobar wrote. “There was no advance notice provided to my office, the City of El Paso, or anyone involved in airport operations.”