Borderland lawmakers demand briefing on El Paso airspace closure

Regional lawmakers are demanding a classified briefing with members of President Donald Trump's cabinet regarding the Federal Aviation Administration's temporary airspace closure that halted all El Paso air traffic Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, Feb. 11.

Democratic U.S. Reps. Veronica Escobar and Gabe Vasquez, including Democratic New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, U.S. Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday, Feb. 12, demanding a classified briefing.

"Events like this are inexcusable and cause lasting degradation of trust among communities with their local and national leaders. We look forward to the briefing," read part of the letter.

As KTSM previously reported, the FAA and the Department of War temporarily closed airspace to "address a cartel drone incursion over El Paso," Duffy said on Wednesday.

Travelers were stranded in El Paso, with many scrambling to rebook flights or rent cars to reach their destinations. Initially, the FAA said the restriction could last up to 10 days, but it was lifted over seven hours later.

According to FlightRadar data, nearly 20 percent of El Paso's scheduled air traffic was impacted during the restriction.

Many lawmakers, including Escobar and Vasquez, called out the administration for a lack of communication during the airspace restriction.

"There are standard rules and procedures for how our airspace is controlled, including when the Department of Defense is conducting any testing in our region. These procedures keep Americans safe and prevent disruption to civil airspace. This morning, the Administration decided to steamroll those policies and close a major city's airspace without notifying state and local officials. That is unacceptable," Vasquez said.

"I'm grateful for the member of our federal workforce who flagged the TFR for me, especially given that the FAA never informed me, the City of El Paso or the professionals who operate at the El Paso International Airport about the closure. The amount of misinformation being spread - including by the White House - is alarming and unhelpful. I spent much of today briefing my fellow members of Congress both in the House and the Senate - this after assuring local leaders and the public that there was no risk to the community. El Pasoans were rightfully alarmed by how the federal government carried all of this out. To be clear: this was the result of incompetence at the highest levels of the administration," Escobar said.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, posted to X, saying his office has been working with the FAA, DOW, and other agencies to gather more information about the airspace closure and hopes more details can be shared in the coming days.

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