The sudden and surprising airspace closure over El Paso stemmed from the Pentagon鈥檚 plans to test a laser for use in shooting down drones used by Mexican drug cartels, according to three people familiar with the situation who were granted anonymity to share sensitive details.
That caused friction with the Federal Aviation Administration, which wanted to ensure commercial air safety and the two agencies sought to coordinate, according to two of the people.
Despite a meeting scheduled later this month to discuss the issue, the Pentagon wanted to go ahead and test it, prompting the FAA to shutter the airspace. It was not clear whether the laser was ultimately deployed.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier that a response to an incursion by Mexican cartel drones had led to the airspace closure and that the threat had been neutralized. Drone incursions are not uncommon along the southern border.
Officials at the White House, FAA and Department of Transportation did not respond immediately Wednesday to request for comment about the dispute. The Pentagon said it had nothing to add to its statement that largely mirrored Duffy鈥檚 comment.
The FAA had originally announced a 10-day closure of the airspace, confusing travelers at the airport in the with a population of nearly 700,000 people. The order was lifted a few hours later. No Mexican airspace was closed.
Duffy said in a post on X that the FAA and the Defense Department 鈥渁cted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.鈥� Duffy said normal flights were resuming Wednesday morning. He did not say how many drones were involved or what specifically was done to disable them.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes El Paso, said neither her office, the city of El Paso nor airport operations received advance notice. She said she believed the shutdown was not based on Mexican cartel drones in U.S. airspace, saying that 鈥渋s not what we in Congress have been told.鈥�
Pentagon officials declined to comment on Escobar鈥檚 remarks and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott鈥檚 office referred questions to the FAA.
鈥淚 believe the FAA owes the community and the country an explanation as to why this happened so suddenly and abruptly and was lifted so suddenly and abruptly,鈥� Escobar said during a news conference. The shutdown had been expected to create significant disruptions given the duration and the size of the metropolitan area around El Paso.
鈥淭he information coming from the federal government does not add up,鈥� Escobar said.
Cross-border drone activity is not new
Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose district covers an area that stretches for about 800 miles along Texas' border with Mexico, said cartel drone sightings are common.
鈥淔or any of us who live and work along the border, daily drone incursions by criminal organizations is every-day life for us. It鈥檚 a Wednesday for us,鈥� Gonzales said.
Asked about the drone explanation provided by U.S. officials, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had 鈥渘o information about the use of drones on the border.鈥� She noted that if U.S. authorities have more information they should contact Mexico鈥檚 government.
Steven Willoughby, the deputy director of the counter-drone program at the Department of Homeland Security, told lawmakers in July that cartels are using drones nearly every day to transport drugs across the border and surveil Border Patrol agents.
More than 27,000 drones were detected within 500 meters (1,600 feet) of the southern border in the last six months of 2024, he testified, mostly at night. Homeland Security has said agents have seized thousands of pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl and other drugs in recent years that cartels were trying to fly across the border using drones.
Mexican officials head to Washington
El Paso is hub of cross-border commerce alongside Ciudad Ju谩rez. The Mexican city is home to about 1.5 million people, and some of its residents are accustomed to taking advantage of facilities including airports on both sides of the border. That easy access to the U.S. has also made Juarez, like other border cities, attractive to Mexico鈥檚 drug cartels seeking to safeguard their smuggling routes for drugs and migrants headed north and cash and guns moving to the south.
El Paso International Airport said in an Instagram post after the closure was announced that all flights to and from the airport would be grounded through Feb. 20, including commercial, cargo and general aviation flights. Local newscasts showed stranded travelers with luggage lining up at airline ticket counters and car rental desks at the El Paso airport hours after flights were grounded.
The airport posted later Wednesday morning that its operations had resumed and encouraged travelers to contact their airlines for the most up-to-date flight information.
Mexican defense and navy secretaries will meet with Northern Command officials in Washington on Wednesday in a meeting attended by representatives of several other countries, Sheinbaum said during a news conference. Sheinbaum said the Mexican officials would 鈥渓isten鈥� in the meeting and that her government would look into 鈥渢he exact causes鈥� of the closure.
'This was a major and unnecessary disruption'
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson said at a news conference that he didn鈥檛 hear about the closure until after the alert was issued and he called the failure to communicate that to the city unacceptable.
鈥淒ecisions made without notice and coordination puts lives at risk and creates unnecessary danger and confusion,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭his was a major and unnecessary disruption, one that has not occurred since 9/11.鈥�
The airport describes itself as the gateway to west Texas, southern New Mexico and northern Mexico. Southwest, United, American and Delta all operate flights there, among others.
A similar 10-day temporary flight restriction for special security reasons remained in place Wednesday morning around Santa Teresa, New Mexico, which is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of the El Paso airport. FAA officials did not immediately explain why that restriction remained in place.
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, a Democrat, said in a statement: 鈥淜eeping our communities informed and safe is critical. I鈥檓 demanding answers from the FAA and the administration about why the airspace was closed in the first place without notifying appropriate officials, leaving travelers to deal with unnecessary chaos.鈥�
Shutdown and restart creates confusion for travelers
The airspace closure upset travel plans on both sides of the border.
Mar铆a Aracelia was pushing two roller suitcases across the pedestrian bridge from Ciudad Juarez to El Paso Wednesday morning. She had a round-trip flight to Illinois scheduled for the afternoon.
After receiving a text at 4 a.m. telling her about the 10-day closure, she scrambled to try to find other options, even how to get to another airport. Then came a notification that the El Paso airport had reopened.
鈥淭his is stressful and there isn鈥檛 time to make so many changes, especially if you need to get back for work," Aracelia said.
