A Southwest airplane at El Paso International Airport. The FAA had briefly imposed a shutdown of the airspace around the airport. (Photo: Kate Scott/Shutterstock)
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(by Leslie Josephs, CNBC) – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) abruptly grounded all flights in and out of El Paso International Airport in Texas for 10 days starting Wednesday morning, citing “special security” instructions — and then lifted the order hours later.
A Trump administration official said the Department of Defense disabled Mexican cartel drones that had breached U.S. airspace and that there was no threat to commercial air travel currently.
“The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted,” the FAA said in a post on X. “There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal.”
The airport sits next to Biggs Army Airfield (which is located in Ft. Bliss) and is near the Mexican border, about 12 miles from Juarez, Mexico. [Juarez is directly on the U.S.-Mexico border. It sits immediately opposite El Paso, Texas, separated only by the Rio Grande and is connected by several international bridges.]
Flights were initially halted until late Feb. 20 and the ban applied to a 10-nautical-mile area around the airport. The FAA hadn’t immediately disclosed the security reasons for the temporary sudden halt or why it was set for so long.
While the FAA regularly halts flights at airports for weather, traffic or even rocket launches, a security issue is highly unusual, as is announcing such a long effective airspace closure.
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson, a Democrat, called the temporary grounding a “major and unnecessary disruption” and called for better communication from the federal government.
…Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen, of Washington, who is the ranking member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Rep. André Carson of Indiana, ranking member of the subcommittee on aviation, called it “unacceptable.”
“While we’re not happy with the disruption, we commend the FAA for taking swift action to protect travelers and ensure the safety of U.S. airspace,” they said in a joint statement. “We look forward to pursuing a bipartisan solution that strengthens interagency coordination and ensures that the Department of Defense will not jeopardize safety and disrupt the freedom to travel.”
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat whose district includes much of El Paso, said the move to suddenly close airspace was “unprecedented.”
“There was no advance notice provided to my office, the City of El Paso, or anyone involved in airport operations,” she said in a statement.
El Paso International Airport (ELP) is located in West Texas, just 3.5 miles north of the US/Mexico border
Nearly 3.5 million passengers passed through the airport in the first 11 months of 2025 and it is served by Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Frontier Airlines, according to airport data.
There were 1,314 departures scheduled for the El Paso airport this month, according to aviation data firm Cirium, including about 40 departures on Wednesday. …
Published at CNBC on Feb. 11, 2026. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission.
Questions
NOTE TO STUDENTS: Before answering the questions, watch the videos under “Resources.”
1. The first paragraph of a news article should answer the questions who, what, where and when. List the who, what, where and when of this news item. (NOTE: The remainder of a news article provides details on the why and/or how.)
2. What assurance did an administration official give that there is no current threat from cartel drones?
3. a) The FAA is a sub-agency of the Department of Transportation (DOT). What is the role of the FAA?
b) Who is the Secretary of Transportation? What is the role of the DOT?
4. How close to the Mexican border is the El Paso airport?
5. How did Democratic officials react to the FAA’s closure of the airport (which was initially for 10 days, but then reopened less than one day later)?
6. Re-watch NewsNation’s two reports under “Resources” below the questions:
- Reporter Allie Bradley explaining about cartel drone incursions
Officials’ frustration with the FAA’s lack of communication is understandable. (video 1) - Lt Gen Richard Newton explaining “there has to be a good reason” for the airport shutdown and saying there must have been “special security reasons” for it (video 3)
Do you think the News Nation reports add reasonable perspective for why this might have happened? Explain your answer.
Background
The FAA imposed a surprise airspace closure late Tuesday, Feb. 10 over El Paso, Texas, grounding all flights including commercial, cargo, and medevac until February 20, after Mexican cartel drones breached U.S. airspace overnight.
U.S. military forces at Fort Bliss used electronic warfare to disable the drones, determining no ongoing risk and lifting the restriction by Wednesday afternoon. Officials confirmed flights resumed normally, though the incident exposed coordination gaps between agencies amid rising border drone concerns from cartels used for smuggling or surveillance. (from a Feb. 11 summary on X)
DOT Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X at 8:37 a.m. on Feb. 11:
“The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.
The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.
The restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming.”
The FAA posted at 7:54 a.m. on Feb. 11:
“The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted. There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal.”
Resources
NewsNation reporter Allie Bradley explains about cartel drone incursions, February 11, 2026:
WTVR CBS 6, February 11, 2026:
NewsNation, February 11, 2026, Lt Gen Richard Newton:
CNBC, February 11, 2026:
Daily “Answers” emails are provided for Daily News Articles, Tuesday’s World Events and Friday’s News Quiz.
