The federal government has warned it may use ‘deadly force’ against anyone who breaches El Paso Airport’s airspace after it was mysteriously closed for 10 days.
Unspecified ‘special security reasons’ were given for the closure of the Texas airport at 11:30pm CT on Tuesday evening, with an official government NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) saying: ‘The United States government may use deadly force against the airborne aircraft, if it is determined that the aircraft poses an imminent security threat.’
A Federal Aviation Administration special operations center worker who picked up the phone to The New York Times said: ‘Sorry, I don’t have a clear answer’ when asked why the airport had closed.
A worker at the airport told The Times that its airspace had been shuttered at short notice.
Confusion reigned late last night and early this morning, with many airlines showing flights scheduled to leave from the airport as leaving on time, despite the closure.
A total of 1,000 flights were scheduled to fly into and out of the airport during the period where it will now be closed.
Southwest Airlines is El Paso’s biggest carrier and accounts for 480 flights affected by the closure.
American Airlines – which is battling an ongoing crisis amid poor staff morale and outrage over cancellations during recent winter storms – has 290 flights scheduled over the same period.
Developing story, check back for updates…
El Paso Airport in Texas (pictured in 2014) closed suddenly at 11:30pm CT Tuesday night for unspecified ‘special security reasons’
