The FAA later reopened airspace on Wednesday morning, just hours after the notice shutting it down was issued.
EL PASO, Texas — This story was originally published by our content partners at The Texas Tribune.
The Federal Aviation Administration suddenly shut down airspace over El Paso and part of southern New Mexico because of an impasse with the Department of Defense over the use of unmanned military aircraft, according to an industry official who had been briefed on the matter by the FAA in a morning call.
The FAA later reopened airspace on Wednesday morning, just hours after the notice shutting it down was issued.
“The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted. There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal,” the FAA shared on X.
The Defense Department has been operating unmanned aircrafts, or drones, against drug cartel operations from a base near El Paso’s airport without sharing information with the FAA, the source, who asked not to be identified, told The Texas Tribune early Wednesday.
“It has to do with the FAA’s inability to predict where [unmanned aircraft systems] might be flying,” the official told the Tribune. “They have been operating outside the normal flight paths.”
The unexplained notices late Tuesday closed airspace over El Paso and a large patch of southern New Mexico west of Santa Teresa for 10 days. El Paso International Airport was set to be closed to all flights, the city had said. The orders closed off all air travel in the affected area, which could cause massive disruption in the nation’s 23rd-largest city.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, said her office has been told there’s no imminent threat to El Paso.
The Tribune was unable to immediately reach Fort Bliss officials for comment.