alt Hacker NewsFAA closes airspace around El Paso, Texas, for 10 days, grounding all flights
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As someone else mentioned, there’s some speculation in aviation subreddits that the bounds of the altitude restriction map to the MANPAD capabilities that some cartels are purported to have.
https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1r1s4zt/comment/o...
My read is that the admin is planning forceful strikes on the cartels within Mexico and is worried about their ability to retaliate by taking down US aircraft across the border.
Edit: The closure has now been kiboshed. The wording seems a little “don’t panic-y” to me, but better that than the alternative! https://x.com/FAANews/status/2021583720465969421
Closure rescinded https://x.com/FAANews/status/2021583720465969421
There is a circular restriction around the airport and a trapezoid one next to the city (https://elpasomatters.org/2026/02/11/unexplained-faa-order-s...).
What are the plausible explanations here? I can't think of anything except military action against Mexico (or the cartels inside Mexico). But even that doesn't fit well.
A suspected terror attack could explain the airspace around the airport, but not the weird trapezoid restriction next to the city.
The duration of 10 days is also weird, that seems very long for any kind of emergency situation. And as far as I understand, it is unusual to have no exceptions at all here e.g. for medical transports via helicopter.
Action to close airspace over a major city in the US for security reasons over extended period hasn’t happened since 9/11.
10 day closure for security reasons seems really long.
edit: Same restriction imposed around Santa Teresa, New Mexico. ~15 miles northwest of the El Paso airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it had lifted the temporary closure of airspace over El Paso that it had imposed last night. “All flights will resume as normal,” the F.A.A. said on social media.
To me the trapezoid suggests something traveling south fell in the area. Narrow at the top, wide at the bottom.
Maybe they dropped a nuke by accident (again)
NPR just announced the El Paso airport is back online for air travel.
According to postings on a couple Reddit discussions, this surprised the El Paso city council among others:
https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1r1r7tu/what_does...
and
https://www.reddit.com/r/ADSB/comments/1r1pqnp/10_day_tfr_is...
Live camera of runway https://app.truelook.cloud/dashboard/581/980/live
Linked from airport website: https://elpasointernationalairport.com/live-cameras/
The closure has been lifted: https://x.com/FAANews/status/2021583720465969421
FAA closed another airspace nearby: https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=detail_6_2234
- From February 11, 2026 at 0630 UTC (February 10, 2026 at 2330 MST)
- To February 21, 2026 at 0630 UTC (February 20, 2026 at 2330 MST)
My guess is nuclear tests
The percentage of comments written primarily for the purpose irrational political ranting is frustrating, considering the genuinely interesting nature of the story.
My money is on misplaced black budget project craft
Maybe that new F-47 did a trump and fell asleep somewhere in the desert
Millions of dollars of stuck planes and cargo. If it was somebody’s fantasy, it sure was an expensive one - but I’m not sure I want to know what it was if it was a real thing
I'm from El Paso. This is bullshit if I've ever heard. There are no fucking drones around here, especially not from cartels. The only criminal cartel here is ICE.
During the ICE surge in Chicago drone traffic was banned for a while but this is obviously much more extreme if for a similar reason. Note that at least on some roads out (I'm most familiar with the road to Carlsbad from El Paso since I used to have to travel there in grad school, often from ELP) there are already CBP checkpoints.
Am I hallucinating? Wasn't there just an identical thread on the front page not even an hour ago?
Duplicate thread of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46972610
Aliens? I want to believe...
Some drug cartel probably bought a SAM and they’re trying to find it.
Judging by the previous actions of this administration — Operation Metro Surge 2: Tex-Mex Boogaloo
It was reported on Democracy Now! that an anonymous source said the military representing Biggs Army Air Field at Fort Bliss (KBIF) couldn't guarantee safety of commercial air traffic around El Paso International Airport (KELP). There was no specific details communicated and the message released caused unnecessary panic. The most likely explanation seems to be an unresolved dispute between the military and the FAA related to improving airspace safety around military flight tracks near major airports (class B/C/D airspace).
FAA has rescinded the TFR - looks like a possible DoD goof in relation to army exercises, leading to the FAA being overcautious.
> BREAKING: A source briefed by FAA tells me the El Paso flight ban was driven by military operations from Biggs Army Air Field at Fort Bliss https://x.com/petemuntean/status/2021573468341383284
If a reasonable administration took this step without any justification, I'd have serious questions.
Under this administration, I'm very very concerned that it's cover for something deeply nefarious.
Crashed alien vehicle recovery?
What are the odds that Claudia the President of Mexico has already been extracted now?
“For special security reasons”. Is a “special military operation “ following? Maybe somebody in Mexico said something mean about the president.
But seriously, is this normal without any explanation? The cost must be enormous.
https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=detail_6_2233
This isnt a particularly special thing. It's a catchall rule and given the identical one to the west, it looks like a common military one.
The entire conspiracy theory industry is praying that the closure runs its course for the established 10 days and then everything is re-opened and the reasons behind the closure are not further explained or even better become classified
Not saying this isn't suspect though.
"Wag The Dog" movie all over again. Sure looks like deflection from the Epstein Files and economy.
> Airline sources told Reuters the grounding of flights was believed to be tied to the Pentagon's use of counterdrone technology to address Mexican drug cartels' use of drones of the U.S.-Mexico border.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-halts-all-flights-texass...