The Federal Aviation Administration hasliftedthe temporary shutdown of airspace over El Paso, Texas, just a few hours after it was imposed.

Late Tuesday, the FAA had abruptly issued a temporary flight restriction that immediately grounded all flights up to 18,000 feet around the city for 10 days, effectively shutting down El Paso International Airport.

The sudden pause over El Paso, along with an area of southern New Mexico, was due to “special security reasons,” according to the FAA’s website. The FAA did not provide additional details.

However, a source familiar with the restriction who was briefed by the FAA tells CNN’s Pete Muntean the sweeping flight ban was driven by military operations from nearby Biggs Army Airfield, located on Fort Bliss. Drones, helicopters and other aircraft operate from the facility. The source said the FAA acted after the Department of Defense could not assure the safety of civilian aircraft in the area.

A source briefed by the FAA also told CNN the military activity near El Paso involves unmanned aircraft operations and laser countermeasure systems. The source said the issue is that those operations are occurring in airspace immediately adjacent to civilian flight paths serving El Paso International Airport.

By Wednesday morning, the FAA lifted the flight restrictions, posting on social media, “there is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal.”

Airlines had already issuedtravel waiversand notified customers of potential changes before the flight restrictions were lifted Wednesday.

In the initial flight restrictions, the FAA classified the area around El Paso as “(National) Defense Airspace” and said pilots who violated the restriction could be intercepted, detained and 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, and that the US government “may use deadly force” if an aircraft poses an “imminent security threat.”

Audio from LiveATC.net includes the moment pilots were made aware of the grounding.

Source: Drudge Report