A United States flag is seen near the El Paso airport as Guatemalan migrants, mostly shackled, are being transported to a plane to be expelled from the United States to their country of origin by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents, at the El Paso airport, Texas, U.S., June 13, 2024.
Jose Luis Gonzalez | Reuters
The U.S. has halted all flights to and from El Paso International Airport in Texas near the border with Mexico for “special security reasons,” the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday, without giving more details.
The airport, which is next to the U.S. military’s Biggs Army Airfield and sits over the border from the Mexican city of Juarez, said all flights were grounded in a post on Instagram.
The airport said the restrictions were issued “on short notice” and that it was waiting for additional guidance from the FAA, according to The New York Times.
The FAA said the temporary restrictions would be in place until February 21 and covered a radius of about 10 nautical miles from the airport, though they did not include Mexican airspace.
The FAA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for details about the “security reasons”.
The airport handled 3.49 million passengers in the first 11 months of 2025. Major U.S. airlines, including Southwest, Delta, United and American fly there.
About The Author
