EL PASO, Texas — The Federal Aviation Administration reopened the airspace around El Paso International Airport on Wednesday morning, just hours after announcing a 10-day shutdown that would have grounded all flights to and from the airport.
The FAA said in a social media statement that the temporary flight restriction was lifted and that there is no threat to commercial aviation. Flights are expected to resume as normal operations restart.
The shutdown, initially described as being imposed for “special security reasons,” had been set to run through Feb. 20 and would have halted all commercial, cargo, and general aviation flights within a 10-nautical-mile radius around the airport, extending up to 17,000 feet. The order did not include Mexican airspace.
El Paso, a border city of nearly 700,000 residents and a major hub for cross-border commerce with Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, faced significant disruption during the brief closure. Airlines including Southwest, American, United, and Delta operate at the airport. Southwest confirmed it paused operations at the FAA’s direction.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose district includes El Paso, had called the 10-day shutdown “unprecedented” and said local officials received no advance notice. She added that early information suggested no immediate threat to the community.
The FAA has not publicly detailed the reason for the initial restriction or the decision to reverse it so quickly.
Sources
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