The challenges of coordinating appropriate responses to rogue drone incursions around airports – institutional and technical – have been vividly thrown into sharp relief these last few days in the Texas city of El Paso.
According to media reports, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on February 9 issued a temporary flight restriction that grounded all flights up to 18,000 feet around the city for 10 days – lifted eight hours later.
The exact reason for the initial ban is not clear but media reports suggest the FAA had acted after the US Department of War (DoW) had told the FAA it planned to use a laser counter UAS system against drones flying near El Paso operated by Mexican cartels.
The DOW had been testingC-UAS laser systems in the area.
Unconfirmed media reports say the institutional issues had been further complicated by the fact that control of the laser C-UAS system had been temporarily passed from the Department for War to the Customs and Border Protection agency.
But a lack of coordination between the different agencies was a key element in the confusion which led to the airport’s shut down – and this angered local political representatives who say they were not informed of events.
The issue was eventually resolved. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy posted to X on 11 February “The FAA and DOW acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion. The threat has been neutralized, and there is no danger to commercial travel in the region. The restrictions have been lifted and normal flights are resuming.”
For more information
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/11/us/faa-el-paso-texas-flight-restrictions-hnk
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqxdwjn578do
(Image: Shutterstock)
