(Adnkronos) – Federal authorities have suspended all flights to and from El Paso International Airport for 10 days due to unspecified “special security reasons”. The Federal Aviation Administration’s notice, which caught local authorities and airlines by surprise, specified that the measure, which came into effect shortly before midnight yesterday, therefore provides for the closure of airspace over the Texan city on the border with Mexico and over the nearby community of Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
Airport management announced that it had received notification of the FAA measure “on short notice”, adding that federal authorities have communicated that the federal government “may use lethal force” if an aircraft violating the airspace closure is considered “an imminent security threat”.
The news also surprised elected representatives in the district, with Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro saying he had “no clear answers” about what was happening. “I have never heard of American airspace being closed for 10 days in the absence of a major emergency,” echoed Vincent Perez, an El Paso representative elected to the Texas Legislature.
