Here's Why El Paso Airspace Was Closed — Are Cartels to Blame?

The Federal Aviation Administration abruptly closed the airspace around the El Paso International Airport on Feb. 10, 2026, as well as an area of southern New Mexico. According to CNN, the closure created mass chaos as a temporary flight restriction that immediately grounded all flights. The restriction grounded flights not only at the airport, but also up to 18,000 feet around the Texas city for 10 days, and people want to know why El Paso's airspace was closed.

The sudden closure was criticised by El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson, who said the decision to close the airspace was "unnecessary" and caused "chaos and confusion," primarily because the FAA failed to notify the airport and the city of the closure, per the El Paso Times.

"Neither the city nor the El Paso International Airport were notified of the order beforehand, and the airspace shutdown caused emergency flights to be diverted to Las Cruces and medical equipment to be delayed," said the mayor on Feb. 11.

A Trump Administration official told CNN that the airspace was closed because Mexican cartel drones had breached US airspace, which prompted the Department of War to "disable the drones."

"The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel," said the official.

Another source told the outlet that the flight closure was a result of military operations from Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss, where aircraft, helicopters, and drones operate.

The FAA reportedly closed the airspace after the Department of Defense couldn't ensure the safety of civilian aircraft in the vicinity.

An official also told Fox News that the closure was due to "Mexican cartel drones."

"Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace," said the official. "The Department of War took action to disable the drones. The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel."

The ban was lifted by the FAA just before 6:00 a.m. on Feb. 11 without much of an explanation from the FAA.

"The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted," read an X post. "There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal."

The El Paso mayor said the FAA's communication failure "is unacceptable."

“That failure to communicate is unacceptable,” said the mayor. "El Paso deserves better. El Paso deserves better communication and better coordination."

Airlines had already issued travel waivers to their customers as they notified them of flight changes before the FAA lifted the flight restrictions in the area.

The CEO and founder of El Paso Matters, Robert Moore, said, "We’ve never seen anything like this here at least since 9/11, when everything was grounded."

Flights in El Paso, as well as in neighboring Santa Teresa, New Mexico, were grounded for the duration of the FAA ban. According to CBS News, the technology used to take the drones down was a high-energy laser. The FAA also failed to notify the Pentagon, Homeland Security, or the White House of the ban.