The Federal Aviation Administration abruptly lifted a 10-day closure of the El Paso International Airport in Texas Wednesday, hours after it halted all flights for what it said were “special security reasons.”
“There is no threat to commercial aviation,” the FAA said on X. “All flights will resume as normal.”
It did not explain the about-face, although a Trump administration official earlier told NBC News that Mexican cartel drones had breached American airspace and the Defense Department had disabled them.
The FAA announcement came about six hours after it said in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that no flights would be able to operate in the airspace over El Paso and the neighboring community of Santa Teresa, New Mexico for 10 days between Feb. 11 and Feb. 21. It listed the reason as “temporary flight restrictions for Special Security Reasons.”
The FAA, which is only responsible for U.S. airspace, did not elaborate on why the restrictions had been put in place for El Paso, which borders Mexico and the city of Ciudad Juárez.
The NOTAM said the airspace was classified as national defense airspace. Deadly force could be used on an aircraft if it is determined that it “poses and imminent security threat,” it said. Pilots that violated the order “may be intercepted, detained and interviewed” by law enforcement and security personnel, the NOTAM said.
The airport, which handled 3.49 million passengers in the first 11 months of 2025, confirmed the initial 10-day restriction in a travel advisory issued on social media, saying that all flights “including commercial, cargo and general aviation” were grounded.
The airport, which services major U.S. airlines, including Southwest, Delta, United and American, had not issued an update at the time of publication.
NBC News has reached out for comment from the airport.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said in a statement that the initial decision to shutter the airport was “highly consequential.” Calling it “unprecedented,” she said it had “resulted in significant concern within the community.”
She added that “there was no advance notice provided to my office, the City of El Paso, or anyone involved in airport operations.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said officials in her country had not seen evidence of drone activity along the border.
“If the FAA or any U.S. government agency has relevant information, they can ask the government of Mexico directly,” she said during her daily morning press conference. “There’s no place for speculation.”
The NOTAM also seemed to take airport staff by surprise.
Shortly before it came into effect, a conversation between an air traffic controller at El Paso International and someone aboard a Southwest Airlines flight suggested the airport had only been notified in the past hour.
The conversation was captured by LiveATC.net, a website that monitors and allows people to listen to air traffic control conversations.
“Just be advised I guess there’s a TFR going into effect,” the air traffic controller said, using the abbreviation for temporary flight restriction. “Just pass it on to Southwest and everybody else at 0630 for the next 10 days we’re stopped. All ground stop.”
Seemingly surprised about the closure, the person aboard the flight, Southwest WN1249, asks for confirmation. “So the airport is totally closed?”
“Apparently. We just got informed about 30 minutes to an hour ago,” the air traffic controller replied.
Jay Blackman, Christiana Corporon, Caroline Radnofsky and Sara Mhaidli contributed.
