Border laser test triggers El Paso airspace shutdown

We now know why the El Paso airport abruptly closed late Tuesday: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel deployed an antidrone laser on loan from DOD without giving FAA officials sufficient time to assess potential risks to commercial aircraft, according to multiple people briefed on the situation, as reported by the New York Times. The FAA issued a temporary flight restriction barring aircraft below 18,000 feet and initially framed the move as driven by “special security reasons.” The shutdown was described as lasting ten days, but it was lifted Wednesday morning after direction from the White House.

The central dispute is not only the decision to restrict airspace over a major US city, but also the conflicting accounts emerging from different parts of the federal government about what triggered the closure and how well agencies coordinated beforehand.

Senior administration officials publicly attributed the shutdown to an urgent drone incursion tied to Mexican drug cartels, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stating online that “the threat has been neutralized.” People familiar with the episode, however, said the FAA’s extraordinary response followed CBP’s use of the laser without advance coordination with aviation regulators. Those sources said officials believed they were targeting a cartel drone, but instead struck what turned out to be a party balloon. Defense Department officials were present during the incident, one person said.

Local officials said they were blindsided. El Paso’s mayor argued that restricting airspace over a major city requires coordination with the city, the airport, hospitals, and community leadership, calling the communication failure unacceptable. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers from both parties demanded clearer explanations and additional briefings, warning that a 10-day closure of a major air corridor is an extraordinary step that requires consistent, transparent justification.