The Federal Aviation Administration reopened the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday morning, just hours after it announced a 10-day closure that would have grounded all flights to and from the airport.
The FAA said in a social media post that it has lifted the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso, saying there was no threat to commercial aviation and that all flights will resume.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that the FAA and the Defense Department “acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.” He said normal flights are resuming.
What we know so far:
El Paso is a border city with a population of nearly 700,000 people, larger when you include the surrounding metro area. It’s a hub of cross-border commerce alongside the neighboring city of Ciudad Juárez in Mexico. The airport describes itself as the gateway to west Texas, southern New Mexico and northern Mexico. The closure has left stranded travelers with few nearby options. The closest major U.S. airport is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, more than 270 miles away.Mexican cartels have long used drones to traffic drugs, control migrant crossings along the border and wage war with rival cartels and authorities. Mexico first issued an international alert about the use of remote-controlled aircrafts in 2010, and the practice has only continued to expand.