The FAA’s haphazard closure of the skies over El Paso devolved into finger-pointing and recriminations inside the Trump administration.
It also exposed a new danger for airline passengers: counterdrone systems that could put civilian aircraft at risk.
In their public explanation, Trump administration officials blamed drones from Mexican drug cartels for the shutdown of airspace into early Wednesday. The sudden move stunned airlines and passengers in El Paso when the FAA announced the 10-day closure for “special security reasons,” before reopening airspace after seven hours.
Worldwide, military planners have rushed to develop technology to mitigate the rise in weaponized drones. Because of their low cost and profile, these drones have emerged as a significant threat.
Counterdrone systems range from high-powered lasers to global positioning jammers. Aviation safety experts fear the new technology could lead to unintended dangers for civil aviation.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told MS NOW he is examining whether the Pentagon allowed Customs Border Protection agents to use an anti-drone laser days before FAA officials ordered the airport closed for 10 days.
Two congressional officials told MS NOW the dispute between the FAA and the Pentagon that led to the closure began when FAA officials raised concerns that the laser had not been properly vetted for use around a civilian airport. Military officials said the FAA was fully informed of their plans.
Smith said the agencies’ contradictory accounts were unacceptable and an example of the Trump administration’s poor management.
“The big issue here is the unbelievable incompetence of the Trump administration,” Smith said. “A major airport is shut down for 10 days without explanation. A full day later DoD, FAA and CBP can’t even come close to telling us what actually happened and the White House, responsible for all of them, is just sitting around with their thumb up their ass.”
This week’s testing took place at Fort Bliss. The military base shares facilities with the international airport in El Paso, which served more than 4 million passengers in 2024.
Among the concerns lawmakers raised after the incident: The Pentagon has a history of poor communication with the FAA – as was made tragically clear in the wake of the mid-air collision that killed 67 people last year near Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport.
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David Rohde
David Rohde is the senior national security reporter for MS NOW. Previously he was the senior executive editor for national security and law for NBC News.
Josh Einiger is the senior transportation reporter for MS NOW based in New York.
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