El Paso airspace was closed
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By David Shepardson, Idrees Ali and Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Flights in and out of the Texas border city of El Paso resumed on Wednesday, after bureaucratic infighting over a secretive military anti-drone system prompted the Trump administration to ban air traffic for more than seven hours.
The shutdown “for special security reasons” had been expected to create significant disruptions given the duration and the size of the metropolitan area.
The Federal Aviation Administration abruptly closed the airspace around El Paso, only to reopen it hours later. The bizarre episode pointed to a lack of coordination between the FAA and the Pentagon.
The Federal Aviation Administration reopened the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas on Wednesday morning, just hours after it announced a 10-day closure that would have grounded all flights to and from the airport.
A Pentagon plan to use a high-energy, counter-drone laser without having coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration about potential risks to civilian flights prompted Wednesday’s unprecedented airspace shutdown over El Paso,
The secretary of transportation said the military had neutralized a drug cartel drone. Two officials said testing of counter-drone technology prompted the closure. The F.A.A. initially said it would last 10 days.
The military testing, which was taking place near Fort Bliss, was of high-energy lasers that are designed to protect against drones from drug cartels that could cross over the U.S. border, three of the sources say.
El Paso's American Canal, a vital water source for farmers along the U.S.-Mexico border, is undergoing a $90 million renovation to prevent water loss.
Federal Aviation Administration officials said privately that the agency did not have enough time or information to assess the technology’s risk to commercial aircraft, according to people briefed on the situation.
Dallas and HSI Tulsa-led investigation uncovered a nationwide counterfeit document scheme resulting in the sentencing of a Mexican couple who produced and sold thousands of fake IDs.