The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered the reopening of airspace over the Mexican border city after a recent 10-day closure. The Secretary of Transportation stated the reopening was to address drones operated by drug trafficking gangs.
On 11 Feb 2026 GMT+7, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced they reopened the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday morning, after ordering a 10-day closure on Tuesday, which had suspended all inbound and outbound flights at the airport.
The FAA stated in a social media post that it had lifted the temporary airspace closure over El Paso, noting there was no threat to commercial aviation and that all flights would resume normal operations.
Sean Duffy, the US Secretary of Transportation, said in a post on X that the FAA and Department of Defense acted swiftly to address drone incursions by drug trafficking gangs in Mexico. He confirmed the threat had been resolved and that there was no danger to commercial travel in the region.
Duffy added that flights would resume normal service on Wednesday morning local time but did not specify the number of drones involved or the specific methods used to handle them.
Previously, the FAA announced a 10-day airspace closure over El Paso, citing "special security reasons," raising concerns about significant disruption to commercial flights given the duration and the size of the city area involved.
El Paso is a border city with nearly 700,000 residents, expanding further when including its metropolitan area. It serves as a hub for cross-border trade alongside the nearby Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez. The area also hosts a US military base and a nearby missile testing range.
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Source:apnews