The US briefly closed airspace over El Paso, Texas, due to a threat posed by « Mexican cartel drones », the White House said. The Federal Aviation Administration reopened the airspace around El Paso International Airport on Wednesday morning, just hours after it announced a 10-day closure that would have grounded all flights to and from the airport.
It said there was no threat to commercial aviation and that all flights will resume. The shutdown announced just hours earlier « for special security reasons » had been expected to create significant disruptions. The airport said all flights to and from it would be grounded from late Tuesday until February 20, including commercial, cargo and general aviation flights.
A White House official told Hannah Brandt that the decision was made after « Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace ». They have since been disabled and no longer pose a threat to travel, the official added.
They reportedly said: « Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace. The Dept. of War took action to disable the drones. The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel. »
Representative Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes El Paso, had urged the FAA to lift the restrictions in a statement Wednesday morning.
There was no advance notice given to her office, the city of El Paso or airport operations, she said.
She said: « The highly consequential decision by FAA to shut down the El Paso Airport for 10 days is unprecedented and has resulted in significant concern within the community.
« From what my office and I have been able to gather overnight and early this morning there is no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas. »
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