The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its airspace closure over El Paso and New Orleans just hours after instituting it.
The FAA originally instituted the shutdown for 10 days, through Feb. 21, but it was lifted after a few hours, according to the Associated Press.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the FAA for comment.
A White House official told NewsNation that Mexican drug cartels were behind the closure, as they had breached U.S. airspace.
“Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace. The Dept. of War took action to disable the drones. The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel,” the official said.
The order was issued without advance notice and went into effect on Feb. 10 at 11:30 p.m. local time, multiple sources reported. 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),” information posted in an “Operating Restrictions and Requirements” section said. “EXCLUDING MEXICAN AIRSPACE.”
The official reason posted on the NOTAM for the closure was “Temporary flight restrictions for Special Security Reasons.”
FAA RESTRICTS FLIGHTS OVER NEW ORLEANS AND EL PASO AIRPORT FOR ‘SECURITY REASONS’
The sudden notification took many by surprise and left some travelers temporarily stranded.
An order to shut down all flights, including medivac and police helicopters, has no precedent in U.S. history, going beyond the nationwide shutdown after 9/11, CNN reported.