El Paso Airport reopened: What to do if your flight was affected by shutdown
Flights were grounded for several hours at El Paso airport for “special security reasons,” although a longer shutdown was avoided.
Early on Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration abruptly ordered the grounding of all incoming and outgoing flights at El Paso International Airport in Texas until February 20, citing unspecified “special security reasons” on its website. A matter of hours later, however, the closure was lifted.
Why were flights grounded at El Paso International Airport?
According to CNN, the temporary shutdown was issued due to Mexican cartel drones breaching U.S. airspace.
A little over 1,000 flights are scheduled into and out of the airport during the period mentioned, which would have left many travelers who had booked trips to or from the Texan hub unsure what to do next.
As a result of the U-turn, only a small number of passengers traveling on Wednesday are affected.
Airport offers guidance to travelers
El Paso International Airport initially confirmed the temporary shutdown in a travel advisory post on its official Instagram account and offered brief instructions for those affected.
“All flights to and from El Paso are grounded, including commercial, cargo, and general aviation. The FAA has issued a flight restriction halting all flights to and from El Paso effective from February 10 at 11:30 PM (MST) to February 20 at 11:30 PM (MST). Travelers should contact their airlines to get the most up-to-date flight status information.”
How busy is El Paso airport?
According to the airport, nearly 3.5 million passengers passed through in the first 11 months of 2025. Under normal circumstances, El Paso offers non-stop service to major cities including Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, and Denver.
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