The White House has blamed drone activity from Mexican drug cartels for the sudden closure of U.S. airspace over El Paso, Texas on Wednesday morning.
In a statement toNewsweekthe White House said: "Mexican cartel drones breached US airspace. The Department of War took action to disable the drones.
"The FAA and DOW have determined there is no threat to commercial travel."
Restrictions set earlier by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been lifted and authorities said flights would resume as normal from Wednesday.
"The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted. There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal," the FAA said on its X account.
Democrat Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso also said on X that she understood there was “no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas.”
Earlier, the FAA had shut El Paso's airsprace with a sudden Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued due to "special security reasons". The FAA had said the closure would go on for 10 days.
Flights to and from El Paso International Airport were immediately halted under the order, which also covered a large patch of southern New Mexico, west of Santa Teresa.
The FAA had applied “NTL defense airspace” considerations, warning that pilots who do not adhere to the order may be "intercepted, detained, and interviewed by law enforcement/security personnel.”
The suddenness of the NOTAM had sparked speculation given that it did not specify what the special security reasons were.
Source: Drudge Report
