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The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded all flights to and from El Paso International Airport in Texas for the next 10 days, the agency announced Wednesday.
All flights to and from El Paso are grounded, including commercial, cargo and general aviation. The restriction is effective from February 10 at 11:30 PM (MST) to February 20 at 11:30PM (MST). The FAA cited “special security reasons” for the closure, but did not elaborate.
The no-fly restriction applies to airspace over El Paso as well as nearby Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
The FAA has classified the airspace as “national defense airspace,” with the notification saying deadly force could be used on craft violating the airspace if they are deemed to pose “an imminent security threat.”
TRUMP DECLARES NATIONAL EMERGENCY OVER CUBA, THREATENS TARIFFS ON NATIONS THAT SUPPLY OIL TO COMMUNIST REGIME
El Paso airport issued a statement confirming the closure on Wednesday.
“Travelers should contact their airlines to get the most up-to-date flight status information,” it said in a statement.
The announcement comes just days after multiple airlines suspended flights to Cuba on Monday following warnings that the island is running low on jet fuel. The warnings cite President Donald Trump’s tariff threats on oil shipments to the communist country.
At least three Canadian carriers, including the country’s largest airline, Air Canada, said aviation fuel is expected to be unavailable for commercial use at airports starting this week.
TRUMP SAYS CUBA IS ‘READY TO FALL’ AFTER CAPTURE OF VENEZUELA’S MADURO
Other Canadian airlines, including low-cost carrier WestJet and leisure airline Air Transat, also canceled flights due to anticipated fuel shortages.
Cuban authorities issued a notice Sunday stating that aviation fuel will be unavailable at the country’s airports for one month, until March 11 at the earliest, as the Trump administration steps up economic pressure on the island nation’s third-party oil suppliers.
AFTER MADURO, VENEZUELA FACES HARD CHOICES TO REBUILD ITS SHATTERED ECONOMY
A White House official told FOX Business Tuesday that Cuban leaders should make a deal with the U.S. as Washington-imposed oil restrictions add to the island’s economic strain.
The official further emphasized that Cuba is also diplomatically isolated, especially after key oil suppliers such as Venezuela and Mexico cut off support to what the Trump administration described as a failing nation.
On Monday, all three carriers issued similar notices canceling departures and announcing plans to operate repatriation flights over the coming days to retrieve customers currently in Cuba.
This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.
