El Paso Airspace Closed For 10 Days, All Flights Grounded By FAA Over ‘Special Security Reasons’- What We Know

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday halted all flights to and from El Paso International Airport in Texas, citing “special security reasons” without offering further details. 

The airport, located next to the U.S. military’s Biggs Army Airfield and directly across the border from Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez, confirmed in an Instagram post that all operations had been grounded following the sudden directive.

El Paso airport said the restrictions had been issued “on short notice” and it was waiting for additional guidance from the FAA, according to The New York Times.

Flights were also barred from the airspace over the nearby community of Santa Teresa in the U.S. state of New Mexico, the FAA said.

Restrictions would be in place until February 21 and covered a radius of about 10 nautical miles from the airport, not including Mexican airspace, the agency added.

The FAA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for details about the security reasons.

The airport handled 3.49 million passengers in the first 11 months of 2025, according to its website. Major U.S. airlines including Southwest LUV.N, Delta DAL.N, United UAL.O and American AAL.O fly there.

(With Reuters Inputs)

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