The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights into and out of El Paso International Airport on Tuesday night at 11:30 pm local time (1:30 am EST Wednesday) and said the restrictions would remain in place for 10 days.
In its notice, the FAA also restricted air space extended in a radius of 10 nautical miles from the airport.
However, less than 10 hours later and without any additional explanation, the FAA ended the restrictions. “The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted,” the federal agency said on social media. “There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal.”
In announcing the closure on Tuesday night, the FAA offered no explanation for the closure aside from determining that the area was classified as “national defense airspace,” and adding that the United States government may use “deadly force” against any airborne aircraft. According to reporting from The New York Times, local officials in El Paso and statewide were not given advance notice for the air space closure.
Similarly in announcing an end to the restrictions, the federal agency offered no information to local officials or travelers who were inconvenienced. It is rare for airspace over a major airport to be closed for any extended period of time.
The El Paso airport serves more than 3 million customers a month, and according to the 2020 US Census, it lies in the 22nd most-populous city in the United States.
The lack of communication from federal officials regarding such a disruptive closure, and then its abrupt end, raise serious questions about the coordination among federal agencies, especially if the FAA was making the closure on behalf of another federal body, such as the US Department of Defense. In making such drastic decisions, seemingly without informing local stakeholders, the US government diminishes its credibility as a steward of US airspace.
This story was updated at 9:10 am ET to reflect the most recent statement from the FAA.
Explosions reported in Lviv as Russia launches hypersonic Kinzhal missiles