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why was the el paso airport closed

El Paso International Airport was closed because the FAA ordered a rare 10‑day halt to all flights for unspecified “special security reasons,” effectively turning the surrounding airspace into protected national defense airspace.

What actually happened

  • Late on February 10, 2026 (around 11:30 p.m. MST), the FAA issued a temporary flight restriction (TFR) over El Paso International Airport and a roughly 10‑mile radius around it.
  • The order stopped all civilian flights: commercial passenger flights, cargo operations, and general aviation were all grounded.
  • The FAA’s official notices called it a closure for “special security reasons” and labeled the area “national defense airspace,” warning that deadly force could be used against aircraft deemed an imminent threat.

Why it was closed (what’s known)

Authorities have not publicly given a detailed explanation, but several key points emerged in news reporting:

  • Federal notices and statements repeatedly cited only “special security reasons,” without specifics.
  • One Trump administration official told Fox that the initial lockdown responded to “Mexican cartel drones” breaching U.S. airspace, suggesting a cross‑border security concern, though this has not been fully detailed in public documents.
  • Other coverage highlighted El Paso’s position as a major border and freight corridor and mentioned “cross‑border vulnerabilities” as part of the security context.

So, in public, the official line is broad national‑security and airspace‑security concerns, while more specific references (like cartel‑linked drones) come from unnamed or single federal sources rather than a full public briefing.

How long was it supposed to last?

  • The TFR was written to last 10 days, from February 10 at 11:30 p.m. MST to February 20 at 11:30 p.m. MST.
  • The restriction covered El Paso and nearby Santa Teresa, New Mexico, plus airspace over Fort Bliss and the U.S. side of the border, below 18,000 feet.

Some reports indicate the FAA later adjusted or lifted parts of the restriction earlier than the full 10 days, but the original closure order itself was for a 10‑day window.

Local reaction and unanswered questions

  • City leaders and airport officials said they were given very short notice and were themselves scrambling for information, emphasizing that communication from federal authorities was poor.
  • Passengers arrived to find gates blocked, TSA screening areas closed, and airlines still trying to figure out what was happening in real time.
  • At city briefings, the mayor and local officials openly said they did not yet know the full “root cause” and were pushing the federal government for a clearer explanation they could share with residents.

In short: the El Paso airport was closed because the FAA imposed an extraordinary security‑driven airspace lockdown, officially for “special security reasons,” with strong hints it was tied to cross‑border and drone‑related threats—but the precise details remain classified or undisclosed to the public.

TL;DR:
The FAA suddenly shut down El Paso International Airport and nearby airspace under a 10‑day security order for “special security reasons,” likely tied to sensitive border‑area threats (including reported cartel drone activity), but has not fully explained the specifics publicly.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.