EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – For 7 hours and 24 minutes, uncertainty filled the skies over El Paso and Santa Teresa.
On the ground, frustration mounted among travelers, city leaders, state officials and even members of President Trump’s cabinet. Hours later, there is still no definitive explanation as to what triggered the sudden airspace restriction.
FILE – A Federal Aviation Administration sign hangs in the tower at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, March 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
“You cannot restrict airspace over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership,” said El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson. “That failure to communicate is unacceptable.”
‘This should have never happened’; Major Renard Johnson speaks on FAA grounding flights
According to FlightRadar data, nearly 20 percent of El Paso’s scheduled air traffic was impacted during the shutdown. At first, it appeared the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restriction could last as long as 10 days. Instead, it was lifted within hours.
Passengers scrambled to rebook flights. Some opted to rent cars to reach their destinations. Others paid additional fees just to reschedule travel plans. Airport ticket counters that are typically orderly were lined with frustrated travelers searching for answers.
Travelers frustrated after early morning El Paso flight restriction
Earlier at the airport airline ticket counters looked very different. Lines were much longer, with people trying to rebook flights or figure out how to get out of El Paso.
By the afternoon, flights had largely returned to normal, and arrival and departure boards showed mostly on-time schedules. Still, city leaders warn the ripple effects could linger.
“You look at the travelers that were stuck at the airport, they had to spend money,” Johnson said. “You look at some of the business deals that were going to take place today here in our community that just may not happen.”
Pentagon-FAA dispute over lasers to thwart cartel drones led to El Paso airspace closure: AP sources
Some reports suggest laser testing operations intended to disable cartel-operated drones may have played a role. Other accounts indicate a balloon in the airspace could have sparked the incident.
FAA lifts El Paso airspace restriction after drone threat neutralized
At a media briefing, Johnson emphasized that the core issue was not only the restriction itself, but the lack of coordination.
Johnson said this should have never happened and that El Paso deserves better communication and coordination.”
The mayor said his team, along with federal and state leaders, are working to determine exactly what occurred.
Airspace restrictions of this magnitude are extremely rare. The last time such an order grounded flights for an extended period was following the September 11 attacks.
While operations at El Paso International Airport have resumed, questions remain about how the shutdown unfolded and whether safeguards will be put in place to prevent similar confusion in the future.
For now, travelers are back in the air. But for city leaders and residents, the call for answers is just beginning.
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