Flights at El Paso halted for 10 days for 'special security reasons'
NEWS | 11 February 2026
lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Flights to and from El Paso, Texas, have been halted for 10 days by the Federal Aviation Administration, citing "special security reasons." In a statement late Tuesday night, El Paso International Airport said all flights were grounded after the FAA issued temporary flight restrictions. Around 100 flights a day are typically scheduled to and from El Paso, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company. The FAA's notice went into effect from 11:30 p.m. MT on Tuesday and is set to last until the same time on February 20. It appears to be the first time since the September 11 attacks that the airspace above a major US city has been shut. El Paso, a city of nearly 1 million, has had its airspace shut down to all flights for the next 10 days. Local leadership says they were not warned in advance. https://t.co/RDUDEYOS6l pic.twitter.com/204pr5HQMg — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) February 11, 2026 The flight restrictions cover a radius of 10 nautical miles around the airport, below 18,000 feet. Another area just over the New Mexico border is also subject to flight restrictions. In a notice issued on Tuesday night local time, the FAA said the US government "may use deadly force" against any aircraft that is determined to pose "an imminent security threat." The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside US working hours. The Defense Department was not immediately available for comment. El Paso sits on the border with Mexico and is home to Fort Bliss, a major Army post. It is home to an ICE Service Processing Center with the capacity to hold nearly 900 detainees. It's also the site of a planned short-term, 5,000-person ICE detention facility. The planned completion date of that facility is September 2027, according to a Defense Department contract announced in July. The city is 200 miles from the MARFA arts center. "Travelers should contact their airlines to get most up-to-date flight status information," the airport said in its statement. How are airlines responding? American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines all operate flights to and from the Texas city. FedEx and UPS also had scheduled cargo flights. In a statement to Business Insider, Southwest said it has "paused all operations" to and from El Paso, notified all affected customers, and "will share additional information as it becomes available." None of the other operators immediately responded to requests for comment sent outside US working hours. A small cargo plane operated by Sierra West Airlines was due to land in El Paso around 1 a.m., but instead diverted to Las Cruces, New Mexico, according to data from Flightradar24. Two Delta flights scheduled for Wednesday morning were also listed as canceled. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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