Two flight restrictions were issued by the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday morning, for air space over El Paso, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
In Texas, arriving and departing flights out of El Paso International Airport in El Paso, Texas, have been suspended for ten days, the Federal Aviation Administration announced early Wednesday morning. The decision to halt air traffic was due to “special security reasons” and was revealed in an alert on the FAA’s official “Notice to Air Missions” or NOTAM website.
The order was issued without advance notice and went into effect on Feb. 10 at 11:30 p.m. local time, according to multiple sources. However, NOTAM mentioned that the airspace restriction at El Paso began on “Feb. 11 at 0630 UTC.”
“No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM (except as described),” read information posted in an “Operating Restrictions and Requirements” section. “EXCLUDING MEXICAN AIRSPACE.”
The official reason posted on the NOTAM for the closure was “Temporary flight restrictions for Special Security Reasons.” The restrictions are listed as being scheduled to end on “Feb. 21, 2026 at 0630 UTC.”
In New Orleans, a separate NOTAM was also issued early Wednesday morning for five separate areas with a radius of “three nautical miles.”
“No UAS operations are authorized in the areas covered by this NOTAM (except as described),” read the alert for New Orleans. “Temporary flight restrictions for Special Security Reasons” was also the reason given for this NOTAM.
No other information has been provided about the closures at this time.
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El Paso International Airport is considered a “major medium-hub” which services over 4 million passengers annually and nearly 98,000 “aircraft operations.” It has three runways and 15 gates in its terminal. Among the airlines that utilize the airport are Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines.
The Washington Examiner sent an email to the FAA inquiring about the details of the airport closure, but has not received a response at the time of publication of this article.