Local officials in El Paso remain perplexed about the sudden closure of airspace near the southern border on Wednesday, with one local lawmaker telling Military.com that the situation “caught everyone by surprise.”
Officials in the city located in close proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border want answers and more information from the federal government after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suddenly closed local airspace early on Feb. 11 for “special security reasons.” The situation caused confusion for officials, pilots and air traffic controllers in the area.
The 10-day Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) originally said to last until Feb. 21 still has not been fully explained, with the closure lasting a few short hours before multiple federal agencies said threats had been averted. A Trump administration official told Military.com on Wednesday, following the lifting of the NOTAM, that the reasoning for closure was due to Mexican cartel drones breaching U.S. airspace.
“The Department of War took action to disable the drones,” the official said. “The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel.”
That message was reiterated by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, though critics question why a NOTAM—and a lengthy one at that in a populous area—occurred in the first place, as drone activity in cities like El Paso or San Diego to the West are routine.
'Not Planned In Advance'
When the closure was first announced, statements circulated on social media that were attributed to El Paso councilman Chris Canales expressed the lack of information he and fellow city representatives received about the situation.
Canales, who represents District 8, confirmed to Military.com that the statements were initially posted on his Reddit account and shared on other platforms like X. He was providing broader updates to individuals inside and outside the border community due to shared bewilderment.
“I unfortunately cannot explain in detail what led to the airspace closure,” Canales told Military.com. “To my knowledge, the only explanation we have is what the FAA and DoD have said publicly, which did not go into much detail. They did not communicate directly with the City of El Paso at all during the entire situation to explain their decisions, and still have not done so."
This was not planned in advance, and it seemingly caught everyone by surprise—including the air traffic controllers in the tower, passenger and cargo carriers, local government entities and elected officials, and airport management.
'Chaos and Confusion'
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson conducted a press briefing on Wednesday, discussing the situation and its origins.
“This unnecessary decision has caused chaos and confusion in the El Paso community," Johnson said. "I want to be very, very clear that this should have never happened."
You cannot restrict airspace over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership. That failure to communicate is unacceptable. These types of decisions have consequences.
Medical evacuation flights were diverted during the ordeal, the mayor said, while all aviation flights including of the emergency variety were grounded.
“This was a major and unnecessary disruption—one that has not occurred since 9/11,” Johnson added.
A spokesperson for Johnson declined to answer additional questions from Military.com, instead deferring to the press briefing.
Explanation Wanted But Not Delivered
Canales said the jury essentially remains out on whether the Trump administration’s reasoning for the closure is adequate.
“It’s either true or not true, and we don’t immediately have the ability to verify it,” Canales said. “I hope that we will get a concrete answer because our constituents deserve a clearer understanding of what happened, who made what decisions, and how/if their safety was safeguarded or put at risk.”
Stefano Ritondale, a former U.S. Army officer who previously spent time at the border instructing counter-cartel operations, told Military.com on Wednesday that the situation was a “breakdown” that happened due to “sloppiness” in inter-agency communications.
“I think this was just a cluster of mistakes where they felt like the helicopter's pilots or like whatever assets were flying felt threatened,” Ritondale said. “They took a drastic response to address it without properly communicating across the chain of, hey, this has broad implications because if you look at the airport, it's not away from the city; it’s smack dab in the middle.”
