The Federal Aviation Administration abruptly halted flights into and out of El Paso International Airport on Tuesday night at 11:30 pm local time (1:30 am EST Wednesday) and said the restrictions would remain in place for 10 days.
In its notice, the FAA also restricted air space extended in a radius of 10 nautical miles from the airport. Violators were subject to being shot down, the agency said.
However, less than 10 hours later and without any additional explanation, the FAA ended the restrictions. “The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted,” the federal agency said on social media. “There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal.”
Later on Wednesday morning, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the decision to close airspace was made to counteract drones from cartels.
“The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion,” Duffy wrote on X. “The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.”
Creating confusion
In announcing the closure on Tuesday night, the FAA offered no explanation for the closure aside from determining that the area was classified as “national defense airspace,” and adding that the United States government may use “deadly force” against any airborne aircraft. According to reporting from The New York Times, local officials in El Paso and statewide were not given advance notice for the air space closure.
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