READ MORE: FAA lifts unprecedented El Paso airspace restrictions after seven hours; 14 flights canceled<\/a><\/p>\nLate Tuesday, the FAA abruptly issued an unexplained order classifying airspace over El Paso and a broad swath of southern New Mexico as \u201cnational defense airspace,\u201d grounding all flights \u2014 commercial, cargo, general aviation and even medevac. The shutdown was initially slated to be a 10-day shutdown under \u201cspecial security reasons.\u201d The El Paso restrictions were lifted within seven hours; the New Mexico restrictions remain.<\/p>\n
The disruption stemmed from a disagreement between the FAA and the Pentagon over testing laser-based anti-drone technology at Fort Bliss, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-New Mexico, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur airport was in chaos. Our community was scared, all because someone decided to shut down our airspace. You just cannot do that, and they lifted it real quick,\u201d El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson said during a news conference at City Hall. \u201cSo we\u2019ve got to figure out what the root cause of that problem is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officials at University Medical Center of El Paso, the region\u2019s only Level 1 trauma center, said they became aware of the shutdown from local news reports early Wednesday. Several hospital leaders began to determine what the impact might be and how they could assist each other if it lasted 10 days, UMC said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the temporary grounding, UMC remained fully operational and did not experience issues with transfers via air medical services, but was prepared nonetheless to respond by other means, if it became necessary,\u201d officials said in the statement. \u201cCapacity, staffing, critical supply levels, and contingency protocols remained at the forefront to ensure patient safety while air transport was unavailable.\u201d<\/p>\n
El Paso Children\u2019s Hospital officials said they were not impacted by the airport shutdown and there was no disruption to critical care transport operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A screen at the El Paso International Airport shows some of the dozens of arrivals and departures that have been cancelled and delayed after the Federal Aviation Administration restricted El Paso airspace for about eight hours, Feb. 11, 2026. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n
Socorro Independent School District officials said the airspace shutdown disrupted some student groups\u2019 travel plans, including musicians headed to state competitions, and a wrestling and two softball teams. Ysleta ISD officials said all student travel plans remain intact, adding that they\u2019re monitoring all conditions to ensure students remain safe.<\/p>\n
Leila Melendez, chief executive officer at Workforce Solutions Borderplex, said she was supposed to fly to a meeting in Fort Worth at noon but canceled her plans. She used her situation as an example of lost hours of productivity due to the shutdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people were scared and others were mad,\u201d she said. \u201cI told them that they had to manage their emotions and focus on work. This was a blip, but if it had lasted 10 days, there would not have been a lot of work done.\u201d<\/p>\n
El Paso Matters reporters Daniel Perez, Elida S. Perez, Claudia Lorena Silva and Priscilla Totiyapungprasert contributed to this story.<\/p>\n
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Alex Valdez, Cathedral High School\u2019s head basketball coach, waits in line at a ticket counter at El Paso International Airport, Feb. 11, 2026. He had planned to get his team to a tournament in Dallas with plenty of time to practice and rest, but the team is now split onto different flights with arrivals far later than anticipated. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n