FAA abruptly lifts order halting El Paso flights; Trump official says Defense Dept. disabled Mexican cartel drones
Last edited Wed Feb 11, 2026, 09:51 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: CNBC
Published Wed, Feb 11 20268:29 AM EST Updated 2 Min Ago
The Federal Aviation Administration abruptly grounded all flights in and out of El Paso International Airport in Texas for 10 days starting Wednesday morning, citing “special security” instructions, and then lifted the order hours later.
A Trump administration official said the Department of Defense disabled Mexican cartel drones that had breached U.S. airspace and that there was no threat to commercial air travel currently.
“The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted,” the FAA said in a post on X. “There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal.”
The airport sits next to Biggs Army Airfield and is near the Mexican border, about 12 miles from Juarez, Mexico. The Pentagon referred a question about the nature of the security issue to the FAA. Flights were initially halted until late Feb. 20 and the ban applied to a 10-nautical-mile area around the airport. The FAA hadn’t immediately disclosed what the security reasons for the temporary sudden halt were or why it was set for so long.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/11/faa-el-paso-airport.html
REFERENCE - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143614581
Article updated.
Original article/headline -
Published Wed, Feb 11 20268:29 AM EST Updated 2 Min Ago
The Federal Aviation Administration abruptly grounded all flights in and out of El Paso International Airport in Texas for 10 days starting Wednesday, citing “special security” instructions, and then lifted the order hours later.
“The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted,” the FAA said in a post on X. “There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal.”
The FAA didn’t immediately say what the security reasons for the temporary sudden halt were. The airport sits next to Biggs Army Airfield and is near the Mexican border, about 12 miles from Juarez, Mexico. The Pentagon referred a question about the nature of the security issue to the FAA.
Flights were initially halted until late Feb. 20 and the ban applied to a 10-nautical-mile area around the airport. While the FAA regularly halts flights at airports for weather and traffic, a security issue is highly unusual as is an effective airspace closure for this long.
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