Air travel restrictions over a 2,000-square-mile area of southern New Mexico were lifted Thursday, two days after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed them on that area and El Paso in an unprecedented action.
The restrictions, which barred all flights below 18,000 feet, were scheduled to last 10 days. The El Paso restrictions were lifted Wednesday morning, seven hours after they went into effect, after condemnation from city leaders.
But FAA officials said the New Mexico restrictions, in an area west of Santa Teresa bounded by the Mexico border to the south and the Organ Mountains-Desert Peak National Monument to the north, remained in effect.
However, that area was removed from FAA maps showing air restrictions sometime Thursday night, El Paso Matters found.
A person familiar with FAA flight restrictions, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly, said the New Mexico restrictions were lifted about 8 p.m. MST Thursday.
FAA officials did not publicly announce the end of the New Mexico flight restrictions. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment by El Paso Matters.
The lifting of the New Mexico restrictions brings to an end one of the most controversial FAA actions in recent history.
The FAA issued what are called Notice to Air Missions, or NOTAM, late Tuesday advising that all air travel below 18,000 feet would be prohibited for 10 days in two areas – a 10-mile radius around El Paso International Airport, and the 2,000-square-mile area of southern New Mexico.
The notices were issued without informing local and state governments. In addition to commercial and cargo aircraft, they also barred military, police and medical flights over the designated areas. The 10-day length of the restrictions, and the sweeping ban on flights, were unprecedented in U.S. aviation history.
El Paso and New Mexico officials condemned the restrictions, saying they caused unjustified alarm and could cause significant harm. Airlines canceled 14 flights at El Paso International Airport on Wednesday before the restrictions were lifted.
The FAA never explained the reasons for the restrictions. The Trump administration released a statement that said “FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford on Tuesday night decided to close the airspace without alerting White House, Pentagon, or Homeland Security officials.”
Multiple media outlets reported that the airspace restrictions stemmed from an incident involving Department of Defense and Customs and Border Protection personnel testing an anti-drone system that uses high energy lasers near the airport.
The reports said the CBP agents fired at what they thought was a drone crossing the Mexico border, but it turned out to be party balloons.
Officials never explained why the New Mexico area was added to the flight restrictions. However, the portion of the U.S.-Mexico border in that area has a heavy concentration of Border Patrol agents.
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