The Federal Aviation Administration reopened the airspace approx El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday morning, just hours after announcing a 10-day shutdown that would ground all flights to and from the airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a social media post that it had lifted the temporary closure of airspace over El Paso, saying there was no threat to commercial aviation and that all flights will continue.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X that the FAA and the Department of Defense “acted quickly to address the cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region.”

He said normal flights were resuming on Wednesday morning.

He didn’t say how much drones were included or what was specifically done to disable them.

It was expected that the work stoppage announced only a few hours earlier “for special security reasons” would cause significant disruptions given the duration and size of the city area.

El Paso, a border city with a population of nearly 700,000 people and more when you include the surrounding metro area, is a hub for cross-border trade alongside the neighboring city Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. The brief closure does not include Mexican airspace.

The airport said in an Instagram post after the closure was announced that all flights to and from the airport will be suspended from late Tuesday until late February 20, including commercial, cargo and general aviation flights. He suggests travelers contact their airlines for updated flight information.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat whose district includes El Paso, urged the FAA to lift the restrictions in a statement Wednesday morning. Her office, the city of El Paso or airport operations were not notified in advance, she said.

“The FAA’s highly consequential decision to close the El Paso Airport for 10 days is unprecedented and has resulted in significant concern within the community,” Escobar said. “From what my office and I were able to gather overnight and early this morning, there is no immediate threat to the community or surrounding areas.”

Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum she said at her regular morning press conference that she had “no information” about the use of drones at the US border.

‘Gateway to West Texas’

The airport describes itself as the gateway to West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Mexico. Southwest, United, American and Delta, among others, operate flights there.

A similar temporary flight restriction for special safety reasons was imposed during the same time period around Santa Teresa, New Mexico, which is about 15 miles northwest of the El Paso airport.

Southwest Airlines said in a statement that it has suspended all operations to and from El Paso as directed by the FAA.

“We have notified affected customers and will share additional information as it becomes available,” Southwest Airlines said. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of its customers and employees.”

(FRANCE 24 with AP, Reuters)