[Update, Feb. 11, 10:30 a.m. EST] The FAA has lifted the El Paso airport closure. "There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal," FAA posted on X. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also posted on X that "the FAA and [Department of War] acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region."
[Previous report] The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has closed El Paso
International Airport for 10 days, citing "special security reasons,"
according to an FAA temporary flight restriction notice. The notice also covers
the airspace over nearby Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The restriction is for
aircraft flying below 18,000 feet.
The closure occurred Feb. 10 at 11:30 p.m. Mountain time and
currently is scheduled to end at the same time on Feb. 20.
As of 7:30 a.m. Eastern time today, the El Paso
International Airport's website did not indicate that the facility was closed.
However, according
to a New York Times report, the airport in a statement said that the
closure was "on short notice" and that the federal government
"may use deadly force" if an aircraft violates the space and is
determined to pose "an imminent security threat."
The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.