Overview
- The FAA overnight issued a 10‑day temporary flight restriction that halted all flights at El Paso International and classified the area as national defense airspace with warnings up to potential use of deadly force.
- Hours later the agency reversed the order, stating there was no threat to commercial aviation and that normal operations at El Paso had resumed.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the closure followed a Mexican cartel drone incursion that Defense Department forces disabled, though officials did not disclose how many drones were involved or the countermeasures used.
- Sources and subsequent reporting linked the episode to activity at Fort Bliss/Biggs Army Airfield involving counter‑drone operations, a connection not fully detailed by federal officials.
- Local and congressional leaders said they received no advance notice and demanded answers, while Mexican officials said they had no information about cartel drones and would seek details during planned meetings in Washington.