El Paso airspace closure was tied to Mexican cartel drones, officials say, after FAA lifts 10-day grounding

CBS

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday morning that it has lifted the closure of El Paso’s airspace just hours after it said it was halting all flights in and out of the airport for 10 days for what it called “special security reasons.” U.S. officials later said the closure was tied to a “cartel drone incursion.”

Administration officials told CBS News that the closure was triggered by Mexican cartel drones breaching U.S. airspace. The officials said the Department of Defense took action to disable the drones, and that the FAA and defense officials have determined there is no current threat to commercial travel.

“There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal,” the FAA said as the closure was lifted.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on social media that the FAA and Department of Defense “acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion” and that the “threat has been normalized.” Duffy said there “is no danger to commercial travel in the region” and that normal flights are resuming.

The FAA said earlier, when the closure was in place, that the area was being classified as “national defense airspace” and warned that the “government may use deadly force” against an airborne aircraft if it’s “determined that the aircraft poses an imminent security threat.” The airport across the border from Juarez, Mexico.

Two airline sources said that airlines were given the impression that the closure was done out of an abundance of caution due to the FAA’s inability to predict where drones might be flying. U.S. drones have been operating outside of their normal flight paths while using the Biggs Army Airfield near the El Paso Airport for drone operations to counter cartel drones. The FAA and Department of Defense have been at an impasse about how to deal with the issue. Similar communication challenges led to some close calls between military aircraft and commercial flights in the Caribbean.

Airlines largely learned about the closure when it was posted. El Paso International Airport issued an advisory on social media overnight saying flights were canceled and travelers should contact their airlines for updated information. The airport said in another statement that the FAA’s move was made “on short notice.”

The FAA had warned that pilots who didn’t comply with the restrictions “may be intercepted, detained and interviewed by law enforcement/security personnel,” could be hit with civil penalties and lose their pilot’s licenses, and might face criminal charges. The restrictions applied to flights below 18,000 feet so planes at cruising attitude could continue over El Paso.

Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents the area, said in a Wednesday morning news briefing that that she learned about the upcoming closure late Tuesday night. She said she learned about it from a member of the federal workplace, but not the FAA. Escobar said that she notified local leadership in El Paso immediately, who had also not been notified.

“This was an FAA decision and was done without any local consultation and without any local communication,” Escobar said. “That is not the way the federal government should operate.”

Escobar previously called the FAA’s decision “highly consequential” and “unprecedented,” and said it has “resulted in significant concern within the community.”

Sen. Rand Paul, who is the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, told “CBS Mornings” that he was not notified about the closure ahead of time.

“We’re very curious, and in a major airport in a big city, we’d like to know what they’re doing and why,” Paul said.

The airport typically sees about 55 departures a day involving six major carriers, mainly Southwest Airlines, American and United.