Mastodawn

#FAA Halts All Flights at #ElPaso Airport for 10 Days

No flights would be allowed to or from the airport for 10 days under a flight restriction order that cited unspecified “special security reasons.”

In a move that appeared to surprise local officials & airlines, the restriction went into effect at 11:30PM local time Tuesday & will remain until Feb. 20 for the airspace over El Paso & the neighboring community #SantaTeresa, NM, the FAA notices said.

#Trump #idiocracy
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/us/faa-el-paso-flight-restrictions.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport

The secretary of transportation said the military had neutralized a drug cartel drone. Two officials said testing of counter-drone technology prompted the closure. The F.A.A. initially said it would last 10 days.

The New York Times

The #FAA posted that it has lifted the temporary closure of the airspace over #ElPaso, saying there was no threat to commercial aviation & that all flights will resume.

#Trump Transportation Secy Sean Duffy posted that the FAA & the #Defense Dept “acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized & there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.” He said normal flights are resuming.

[precursor to Mexico invasion?]
https://apnews.com/live/faa-el-paso-texas-air-space-closed-updates?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2026-02-11-Breaking+News

Pentagon-FAA dispute over lasers to thwart cartel drones led to airspace closure, AP sources say

The sudden closure of airspace around El Paso, Texas, by the Federal Aviation Administration stemmed from the Pentagon’s plan to test a laser for shooting down Mexican cartel drones.

AP News

#US #military plans to use counter-drone laser triggered #ElPaso airspace closure

A #Pentagon plan to use a high-energy, counter-drone laser without coordinating with the #FAA about potential risks to civilian #flights prompted Wednesday’s unprecedented airspace shutdown over El Paso, #Texas, multiple sources told CNN.

Those accounts come as the #Trump admin claimed that a #Mexican #cartel drone crossing into #US airspace is what triggered the shutdown.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/us/faa-el-paso-texas-flight-restrictions-hnk

Surprise US military plans to use counter-drone laser triggered El Paso airspace closure, sources say

A Pentagon plan to use a high-energy, counter-drone laser without having coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration about potential risks to civilian flights prompted Wednesday’s unprecedented airspace shutdown over El Paso, Texas, multiple sources tell CNN.

CNN

Multiple sources from the federal government & US airlines told CNN that #military activity near #ElPaso, including #US #drones monitoring #cartel operations & the #Pentagon’s planned use of a high-energy laser designed to counter drones, raised immediate concerns for civilian traffic arriving & departing #ELP. #FortBliss & its airfield, #BiggsArmyAirfield, sit just north of the commercial airport, which serves about 100 flights each day.

#Trump #idiocracy

It is not clear if the #Pentagon moved ahead with the deployment of the laser system on Tuesday or Wednesday after notifying the #FAA of its planned use [Seems pretty clear they didn’t].

FAA & Pentagon officials had been scheduled to meet February 20 to review potential impacts & mitigation measures for a test of the laser system, a technology the Pentagon has been testing in more remote areas of the country, multiple sources said.

#Trump #idiocracy

But the #Defense Dept sought to use the system sooner around #ElPaso, prompting the #FAA to impose the temporary flight restriction until that coordination could occur. The 10-day restriction would have expired on February 21, one day after #DoD & the FAA were set to meet.

#Trump #idiocracy

The #FAA’s decision to close the airspace was made without telling the White House first, acc/to sources. The issue became a topic of intense focus inside the West Wing early morning Wednesday, as #Texas lawmakers pressed for answers on why the airspace was suddenly closed without first alerting them.

A #Trump admin official lied Wednesday morning that the shutdown was triggered by #Defense Dept “action to disable” #Mexican #cartel #drones.

When caught doing something stupid, lie.

CNN reached out to the #FAA & White House for comment about the differing explanations. The #Pentagon Wednesday continued to refer to the #Trump admin official’s statement about a drone breach having caused the airspace closure.

Secy of #Transportation #SeanDuffy posted to social media crediting the FAA & #Defense Dept with acting “swiftly to address a #cartel #drone incursion.”

“The threat has been neutralized, & there is no danger to commercial travel in the region,” he posted.

Incursions along the southern border are extremely common & historically do not prompt such airspace closures. In 2024, Air Force Gen. Greg Guillot, the commander of #NORTHCOM, told the #Senate #ArmedServices Cmte that the number of incursions along the #US #Mexico border was “over a thousand” each month.

The #DEA & other US security agencies have used facilities at the Biggs Army Airfield for years as part of efforts to monitor #Mexico based drug #cartel operations.

#Trump #idiocracy

#ElPaso, with a population of nearly 700k, is the sixth-largest city in #Texas & one of the 25 largest in the #US. It is a hub of cross-border commerce alongside neighboring Ciudad Juárez in #Mexico.

Nearly 3.5 million passengers passed through #ELP in the first 11 months of 2025, according to its website.…

#Trump #idiocracy

In the initial flight restrictions, the #FAA classified the area around #ElPaso as “(National) Defense Airspace” & said pilots who violated the restriction could be intercepted, detained & questioned by law enforcement.

It warned that additional actions could be taken for pilots who don’t adhere to the restrictions, including suspension of flight certifications, #criminal charges, & that the #US govt “may use deadly force” if an aircraft poses an “imminent security threat.”

#Trump #idiocracy

The sudden #FAA restrictions seemed to catch #pilots & #AirTrafficControllers by surprise.

Audio from LiveATC.net caught the moment pilots were made aware of the grounding.

“Just pass it on to everybody else, at 06:30 for the next 10 days, we’re all at a ground stop,” a controller said.

A pilot replied, “OK, ground stop 06:30 for how long?”

“Ten days,” the controller replied.

“So the airport is totally closed?” the pilot said, chuckling.

#Trump #idiocracy

The #ATC replied, “Apparently, we just got informed about 30 minutes to an hour ago.”

“So for 10 days you guys are not open,” the #pilot said, in disbelief.

“Well, we’ll be here, but no air traffic,” the controller said.

“OK,” the pilot said while still laughing.

#Trump #idiocracy

Making sure Don Jr's Cocaine Plane made it in safely!

MissConstrue Feb 11

@Nonilex Oh man, just the thought that they could scramble fighters to take down a commercial airliner is terrifying. I fail to understand how this regime is still standing, surely even the Guardians of Pedophiles know they've lost the trail.

KanaMauna Feb 11

@Nonilex Sounds like a dry-run for upcoming blue airspace closures.

Trump & Epstein: Biz partners.Feb 11

@Nonilex
Maybe I don't have all the facts, but any laser capable of "shooting down" a drone isn't just an innocent beam of light. 💥

AT THE VERY LEAST we are talking a "high intensity beam" (either of "heat" or "radiation") that doesn't just stop the millisecond it strikes an object (we ARE talking "the Speed of Light" here.)

Do they ensure the drone "only fires UP"? I sure as hell wouldn't want to be in the path of that laser beam for even a microsecond. 🤔

Lee from Colorado Feb 11

@Nonilex
"[precursor to Mexico invasion?]"
That's how I read it. This is the kind of thing they'll use as an excuse.

Barbara Monaco Feb 11

@Nonilex Could it be a power move to intimidate one of the largest majority Hispanic cities in the country? It is nearly 85% Hispanic. The closest major US airport to El Paso is a 4 hour drive.
Whatever the goal here it stinks to high heaven.

Barbara Monaco Feb 11

@Nonilex Welp, it's being reported that US military closed the airspace while they shot down what turned out to be a party balloon.
The incompetence of the regime makes me nearly as concerned as I am about their authoritarian goals.

@Nonilex is it debris off of the mars-mans rockets again?

So‑Called Vaughn Feb 11

@ar1 @Nonilex Unlikely*, SpaceX launches eastward toward the Gulf. El Paso is far to the west.

*Understatement

Zhi Zhu 🕸️Feb 11

How very odd.

So‑Called Vaughn Feb 11

@Nonilex Ugh. Puerto Rico airspace was shuttered prior to the Maduro ‘extraction.’ A complete halt on civilian/commercial ops down near the US-MEX border suggests military activity is afoot.

Dmitry Borodaenko Feb 11

@Nonilex Is this what they were so eager to test?

https://www.ukrainianworldcongress.org/ukrainians-develop-new-laser-air-defense-system/

Ukrainians develop new laser air defense system

Ukrainian engineers have developed and successfully tested a new laser-based air defense system called Sunray to counter enemy drones.

Ukrainian World Congress

Unknown

Dmitry Borodaenko Mar 7

@Nonilex In retrospect, watching the US and its Gulf clients burn through decades worth of supply of Patriot interceptors, at a 50:1 cost disadvantage, to shoot down Shaheds launched by Iran, nah: these people are too dumb to do this kind of math ahead of time.

I am sure there are still people in DoD who understand what is happening there, but clearly they are not giving orders and are not being listened to.