The Federal Aviation Administration reopened the airspace around El Paso International Airport Wednesday (February 11) morning, just hours after announcing a 10-day closure that would’ve grounded all departing and arriving flights, the Associated Press reports.
The agency confirmed the temporary closure was lifted in a social media post, claiming there was no threat to commercial aviation and all scheduled flights would resume.
“The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted. There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal,” the FAA said.
The agency had previously claimed that the shutdown was in place “for special security reasons,” with significant disruptions expected given the 10-day period and the size of El Paso’s metropolitan area.
The U.S.-Mexico border city has an estimated population of nearly 700,000 without including surrounding metro areas and serves as a hub for cross-border commerce alongside the neighboring Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, though the brief closure didn’t include Mexican airspace. El Paso International Airport had previously announced that “all flights to and from El Paso are grounded, including commercial, cargo and general aviation” in a post shared on its Instagram account prior to the closure being lifted.
The temporary airspace closure would’ve lasted through February 20. Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar urged the FAA to lift the restrictions Wednesday morning prior to the announcement as she claimed there was no advance notice given to her office, the City of El Paso or airport operations.
“The highly consequential decision by FAA to shut down the El Paso Airport for 10 days is unprecedented and has resulted in significant concern within the community,” Escobar said via the Associated Press. “From what my office and I have been able to gather overnight and early this morning there is no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas.”
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