#FAA Halts All Flights at #ElPaso Airport for 10 Days
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Multiple sources from the federal government & US airlines told CNN that #military activity near #ElPaso, including #US #drones monitoring #cartel operations & the #Pentagon’s planned use of a high-energy laser designed to counter drones, raised immediate concerns for civilian traffic arriving & departing #ELP. #FortBliss & its airfield, #BiggsArmyAirfield, sit just north of the commercial airport, which serves about 100 flights each day.
It is not clear if the #Pentagon moved ahead with the deployment of the laser system on Tuesday or Wednesday after notifying the #FAA of its planned use [Seems pretty clear they didn’t].
FAA & Pentagon officials had been scheduled to meet February 20 to review potential impacts & mitigation measures for a test of the laser system, a technology the Pentagon has been testing in more remote areas of the country, multiple sources said.
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It is not clear if the #Pentagon moved ahead with the deployment of the laser system on Tuesday or Wednesday after notifying the #FAA of its planned use [Seems pretty clear they didn’t].
FAA & Pentagon officials had been scheduled to meet February 20 to review potential impacts & mitigation measures for a test of the laser system, a technology the Pentagon has been testing in more remote areas of the country, multiple sources said.
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#US #military plans to use counter-drone laser triggered #ElPaso airspace closure
A #Pentagon plan to use a high-energy, counter-drone laser without coordinating with the #FAA about potential risks to civilian #flights prompted Wednesday’s unprecedented airspace shutdown over El Paso, #Texas, multiple sources told CNN.
Those accounts come as the #Trump admin claimed that a #Mexican #cartel drone crossing into #US airspace is what triggered the shutdown.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/11/us/faa-el-paso-texas-flight-restrictions-hnk
@Nonilex Sounds like a dry-run for upcoming blue airspace closures.
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The #FAA’s decision to close the airspace was made without telling the White House first, acc/to sources. The issue became a topic of intense focus inside the West Wing early morning Wednesday, as #Texas lawmakers pressed for answers on why the airspace was suddenly closed without first alerting them.
A #Trump admin official lied Wednesday morning that the shutdown was triggered by #Defense Dept “action to disable” #Mexican #cartel #drones.
When caught doing something stupid, lie.
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#FAA Halts All Flights at #ElPaso Airport for 10 Days
No flights would be allowed to or from the airport for 10 days under a flight restriction order that cited unspecified “special security reasons.”
In a move that appeared to surprise local officials & airlines, the restriction went into effect at 11:30PM local time Tuesday & will remain until Feb. 20 for the airspace over El Paso & the neighboring community #SantaTeresa, NM, the FAA notices said.
#Trump #idiocracy
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/us/faa-el-paso-flight-restrictions.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share@Nonilex Is this what they were so eager to test?
Ukrainians develop new laser air defense system - Ukrainian World Congress
Ukrainian engineers have developed and successfully tested a new laser-based air defense system called Sunray to counter enemy drones.
(www.ukrainianworldcongress.org)
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The #FAA’s decision to close the airspace was made without telling the White House first, acc/to sources. The issue became a topic of intense focus inside the West Wing early morning Wednesday, as #Texas lawmakers pressed for answers on why the airspace was suddenly closed without first alerting them.
A #Trump admin official lied Wednesday morning that the shutdown was triggered by #Defense Dept “action to disable” #Mexican #cartel #drones.
When caught doing something stupid, lie.
@Nonilex there is nothing relative to truth in their world, so they open their gaping maws and whatever falls out they hold up and smile at, gap-toothed and incredulous
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The #FAA’s decision to close the airspace was made without telling the White House first, acc/to sources. The issue became a topic of intense focus inside the West Wing early morning Wednesday, as #Texas lawmakers pressed for answers on why the airspace was suddenly closed without first alerting them.
A #Trump admin official lied Wednesday morning that the shutdown was triggered by #Defense Dept “action to disable” #Mexican #cartel #drones.
When caught doing something stupid, lie.
CNN reached out to the #FAA & White House for comment about the differing explanations. The #Pentagon Wednesday continued to refer to the #Trump admin official’s statement about a drone breach having caused the airspace closure.
Secy of #Transportation #SeanDuffy posted to social media crediting the FAA & #Defense Dept with acting “swiftly to address a #cartel #drone incursion.”
“The threat has been neutralized, & there is no danger to commercial travel in the region,” he posted.
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CNN reached out to the #FAA & White House for comment about the differing explanations. The #Pentagon Wednesday continued to refer to the #Trump admin official’s statement about a drone breach having caused the airspace closure.
Secy of #Transportation #SeanDuffy posted to social media crediting the FAA & #Defense Dept with acting “swiftly to address a #cartel #drone incursion.”
“The threat has been neutralized, & there is no danger to commercial travel in the region,” he posted.
Incursions along the southern border are extremely common & historically do not prompt such airspace closures. In 2024, Air Force Gen. Greg Guillot, the commander of #NORTHCOM, told the #Senate #ArmedServices Cmte that the number of incursions along the #US #Mexico border was “over a thousand” each month.
The #DEA & other US security agencies have used facilities at the Biggs Army Airfield for years as part of efforts to monitor #Mexico based drug #cartel operations.
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Incursions along the southern border are extremely common & historically do not prompt such airspace closures. In 2024, Air Force Gen. Greg Guillot, the commander of #NORTHCOM, told the #Senate #ArmedServices Cmte that the number of incursions along the #US #Mexico border was “over a thousand” each month.
The #DEA & other US security agencies have used facilities at the Biggs Army Airfield for years as part of efforts to monitor #Mexico based drug #cartel operations.
#ElPaso, with a population of nearly 700k, is the sixth-largest city in #Texas & one of the 25 largest in the #US. It is a hub of cross-border commerce alongside neighboring Ciudad Juárez in #Mexico.
Nearly 3.5 million passengers passed through #ELP in the first 11 months of 2025, according to its website.…
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#ElPaso, with a population of nearly 700k, is the sixth-largest city in #Texas & one of the 25 largest in the #US. It is a hub of cross-border commerce alongside neighboring Ciudad Juárez in #Mexico.
Nearly 3.5 million passengers passed through #ELP in the first 11 months of 2025, according to its website.…
In the initial flight restrictions, the #FAA classified the area around #ElPaso as “(National) Defense Airspace” & said pilots who violated the restriction could be intercepted, detained & questioned by law enforcement.
It warned that additional actions could be taken for pilots who don’t adhere to the restrictions, including suspension of flight certifications, #criminal charges, & that the #US govt “may use deadly force” if an aircraft poses an “imminent security threat.”
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In the initial flight restrictions, the #FAA classified the area around #ElPaso as “(National) Defense Airspace” & said pilots who violated the restriction could be intercepted, detained & questioned by law enforcement.
It warned that additional actions could be taken for pilots who don’t adhere to the restrictions, including suspension of flight certifications, #criminal charges, & that the #US govt “may use deadly force” if an aircraft poses an “imminent security threat.”
The sudden #FAA restrictions seemed to catch #pilots & #AirTrafficControllers by surprise.
Audio from LiveATC.net caught the moment pilots were made aware of the grounding.
“Just pass it on to everybody else, at 06:30 for the next 10 days, we’re all at a ground stop,” a controller said.
A pilot replied, “OK, ground stop 06:30 for how long?”
“Ten days,” the controller replied.
“So the airport is totally closed?” the pilot said, chuckling.
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The sudden #FAA restrictions seemed to catch #pilots & #AirTrafficControllers by surprise.
Audio from LiveATC.net caught the moment pilots were made aware of the grounding.
“Just pass it on to everybody else, at 06:30 for the next 10 days, we’re all at a ground stop,” a controller said.
A pilot replied, “OK, ground stop 06:30 for how long?”
“Ten days,” the controller replied.
“So the airport is totally closed?” the pilot said, chuckling.
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The sudden #FAA restrictions seemed to catch #pilots & #AirTrafficControllers by surprise.
Audio from LiveATC.net caught the moment pilots were made aware of the grounding.
“Just pass it on to everybody else, at 06:30 for the next 10 days, we’re all at a ground stop,” a controller said.
A pilot replied, “OK, ground stop 06:30 for how long?”
“Ten days,” the controller replied.
“So the airport is totally closed?” the pilot said, chuckling.
Making sure Don Jr's Cocaine Plane made it in safely!
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If you're testing a weapon designed to attack drones with high-intensity laser beams, you don't do it live over a working commercial airport. You do it over a large military reservation, comprised of space mostly empty of humans.
You don't close busy commercial airspace for ten days, disrupting civilian and military traffic, for a practice session.
Once again, Trump, Hegseth and his other pet running the FAA are lying, dangerously incompetent, or both.
@huntingdon @Nonilex dumbasses
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@Nonilex Is this what they were so eager to test?
Ukrainians develop new laser air defense system - Ukrainian World Congress
Ukrainian engineers have developed and successfully tested a new laser-based air defense system called Sunray to counter enemy drones.
(www.ukrainianworldcongress.org)
Unknown
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#FAA Halts All Flights at #ElPaso Airport for 10 Days
No flights would be allowed to or from the airport for 10 days under a flight restriction order that cited unspecified “special security reasons.”
In a move that appeared to surprise local officials & airlines, the restriction went into effect at 11:30PM local time Tuesday & will remain until Feb. 20 for the airspace over El Paso & the neighboring community #SantaTeresa, NM, the FAA notices said.
#Trump #idiocracy
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/us/faa-el-paso-flight-restrictions.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share@Nonilex Bullshit is it about Mexico. It's about stopping journalists from using Camera drones to report on what's happening in their concentration camps.
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The #FAA’s decision to close the airspace was made without telling the White House first, acc/to sources. The issue became a topic of intense focus inside the West Wing early morning Wednesday, as #Texas lawmakers pressed for answers on why the airspace was suddenly closed without first alerting them.
A #Trump admin official lied Wednesday morning that the shutdown was triggered by #Defense Dept “action to disable” #Mexican #cartel #drones.
When caught doing something stupid, lie.
@Nonilex
Some kid with a drone acting stupid more than likely,so yeah, lets close the entire area down !! -
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