The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a previous order on Wednesday that had grounded all flights departing El Paso International Airport in Texas for ten days due to “special security reasons.”
The FAA did not specify the concerns that prompted the grounding, but issued similar restrictions for Santa Teresa, New Mexico, about 15 miles away from El Paso. El Paso, which borders Mexico, is a city of around 678,000 people.
“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 announced Wednesday morning, just a few hours after announcing flights would be grounded for ten days. The airport handles up to 100 flights daily.
The notice from the FAA put in place flight restrictions for a 10-mile radius around El Paso. Planes flying above 18,000 feet would have been allowed to fly over, but the limitations did not extend into Mexican airspace.
After the initial grounding was announced, Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar, whose district includes El Paso, called for the FAA to lift the restrictions.
“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,” she said. “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.”
After the restrictions were lifted, Escobar said there were no safety concerns.
“The FAA is rightfully lifting the Temporary Restricted Airspace. I will again reiterate there is no threat to El Paso or the surrounding areas,” she said.
State Senator Cesar Blanco, a Democrat, said his office was contacting multiple agencies to understand the justification for the temporary grounding.
“Actions like this are taken out of an abundance of caution to protect our community. I encourage everyone to remain calm and patient as we await further information. We will share updates as they become available,” he said.
