Flights in and out of the Texas border city of El Paso resumed yesterday, after the US government lifted a ban on air traffic it had abruptly imposed overnight due to concerns about a military anti-drone system.
The sudden closure of the nation’s 71st busiest airport by the Federal Aviation Administration stranded air travellers and disrupted medical evacuation flights overnight, in what appeared to be an unprecedented action by the US government.
The FAA initially said the closure would last 10 days before lifting it after about seven and a half hours.
Government and airline officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the FAA closed the airspace due to concerns that a laser-based counter-drone system being tested by the US Army could pose risks to air traffic.
The FAA lifted its restrictions after the army agreed to more safety tests before using the system, which is being tested at Fort Bliss, next to El Paso International Airport.
The White House was surprised by the El Paso airspace closure, according to two sources speaking on condition of anonymity, touching off a scramble among law enforcement agencies to figure out what happened.
The FAA lifted the restrictions shortly after the situation was discussed in the office of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, the sources said.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who oversees the FAA, said the closure had been prompted by a drone incursion by a Mexican drug cartel.
However, a drone sighting near an airport would typically lead to a brief pause on traffic, not an extended closure, and officials say drone incursions in the El Paso region are common.
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