Travelers passing through El Paso International Airport faced an unexpected wave of cancellations and delays after a sudden federal airspace shutdown late Tuesday, February 10, 2026, triggered widespread disruption across key Southwest routes. By Wednesday afternoon, at least 14 flights had been canceled and multiple others delayed, affecting major links from El Paso to Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and other domestic destinations. Although the Federal Aviation Administration moved quickly to lift the restriction on Wednesday morning, the ripple effects on airline schedules and passengers are expected to linger into the coming days.
A Sudden Federal Order Halts Flights In and Out of El Paso
The disruption began when the Federal Aviation Administration issued a rare temporary flight restriction late on Tuesday, effectively closing the airspace around El Paso International Airport for what it described only as “special security reasons.” The notice initially indicated that the closure, centered on a 10 mile radius around the airport and below 18,000 feet, would remain in effect for 10 days, through February 20. The scope of the order meant all commercial, cargo, and general aviation flights to and from El Paso were immediately grounded.
For several early morning hours on Wednesday, El Paso, a critical regional hub for West Texas, Southern New Mexico, and the U.S. Mexico border, found itself effectively cut off from the national air network. Aircraft already in the air were rerouted or diverted, and departures that would normally connect El Paso with Dallas Fort Worth, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Antonio were held at gates or canceled outright.
Local officials and airport administrators indicated they received little advance warning before the restrictions took effect. Confusion initially deepened as the FAA’s public notices and the airport’s own messages referenced a days long closure window, even as federal authorities were already reconsidering the duration behind the scenes. For travelers, the distinction mattered little in the moment. What they saw on departure boards early Wednesday was a wall of red, with canceled and delayed flights where routine morning bank departures normally stood.
From Ten Day Shutdown to Same Day Reopening
Within hours of the first flights being halted, the federal government shifted course. On Wednesday morning, February 11, the FAA announced that the temporary airspace closure over El Paso had been lifted and that there was no ongoing threat to commercial aviation. Operations were cleared to resume, even as public explanations for the initial shutdown remained sparse and sometimes conflicting.
The reversal ended what could have been a 10 day disruption, but by that point airlines had already begun canceling and rerouting aircraft, crews, and passengers. Flight tracking data showed that 14 flights linked to El Paso were canceled in connection with the overnight shutdown, and at least nine more were delayed, many by several hours. Some flights were diverted to nearby airports in New Mexico and West Texas, while morning departures from El Paso never left the ground.
For airlines operating tight schedules with aircraft cycling throughout the day across multiple cities, a ground stop of just a few hours is enough to upend the rest of the day’s operations. Even after the FAA cleared the airspace, carriers needed time to reposition planes and crews and to sort out passengers whose original flights had vanished from the schedule. As a result, schedules through Wednesday afternoon and evening showed continued irregular operations, with knock on effects likely to be felt into Thursday.
Cancellations Hit Southwest, SkyWest and Delta Customers Hardest
Southwest Airlines, the dominant carrier at El Paso International Airport, absorbed the largest share of the disruption. Data from airport reports and flight tracking services showed that Southwest canceled 10 flights linked to the shutdown window, many of them core short haul routes that connect El Paso to Dallas Love Field, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and other major nodes in its network. With Southwest’s point to point model, cancellations on these legs often have a cascading effect, pulling aircraft and crews out of position for later flights across the region.
SkyWest Airlines, operating regional services under major carrier brands, and Delta Air Lines each canceled two flights tied to the airspace closure. These cancellations affected passengers on routes that connect El Paso with larger hubs, likely including connections through Dallas Fort Worth or other major cities where SkyWest feeds mainline networks, as well as Delta passengers heading to or from its core hubs. For those travelers, the loss of a single feeder flight could mean missed long haul connections and forced overnight stays far from home.
In addition to the 14 cancellations, at least nine flights registered significant delays. Some departures from El Paso eventually took off hours behind schedule, while others inbound to the city were held on the ground at origin airports until the FAA’s restriction was lifted. Even for flights that ultimately operated, passengers found themselves grappling with missed connections at downline hubs, especially on routes to and from Dallas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, where banks of connecting flights operate within tight windows.
Key Routes Disrupted Across the Southwest
El Paso International Airport normally handles roughly 100 flights per day, linking the city to some of the busiest airports in the country. The sudden closure and its aftermath hit many of the most important routes that leisure and business travelers rely on to move around the Southwest and beyond. Morning service to Dallas, including flights used by business travelers commuting to North Texas, was among the first to be affected, as departures were canceled or pushed back beyond their connection windows.
Flights linking El Paso to Phoenix and Las Vegas, popular for both leisure travelers and as stepping stones to West Coast and Rocky Mountain destinations, also appeared among the cancellations and longest delays. These routes typically feed passengers onward to larger national and international networks operated by multiple carriers. Lost or delayed departures on these segments left many travelers stranded in El Paso or stuck midway through longer itineraries.
Service to Los Angeles and San Antonio also saw disruptions, complicating travel between El Paso and two key regional centers. For some travelers, driving became the only timely alternative. Car rental agencies at El Paso International reported a surge in demand as passengers with urgent meetings or family obligations weighed the prospect of a full day of missed flights against a long but reliable drive to Dallas, Phoenix, or San Antonio.
On the Ground: Long Lines, Confusion and Scrambled Plans
Inside the terminal, the human impact of the shutdown and its confusing reversal was immediately visible. Passengers arriving for early morning departures found check in counters swamped and security lines stalled, as ticket agents and Transportation Security Administration staff relayed the same limited explanation from federal authorities: flights were grounded for security reasons and would not resume until further notice.
Travelers interviewed at the airport described racing to rebook flights on mobile apps and via call centers, only to find that earlier options had already vanished while the FAA’s longer 10 day closure window was still in effect. Some passengers bound for weddings, medical appointments, or business events in Dallas and Los Angeles made the difficult decision to abandon air travel entirely for this trip, pooling into rental cars or arranging rides with family members to other regional airports.
Families with young children and elderly travelers appeared especially hard hit, as last minute changes and uncertainty proved exhausting in an already stressful environment. With hotel availability limited around the airport, stranded travelers faced a mix of overnight stays in El Paso, unplanned returns home to try again in a day or two, or improvised journeys by road or bus. Even after flights resumed, many passengers remained in limbo as they waited to hear whether their place on a canceled itinerary would translate into a confirmed seat on an afternoon or next day departure.
How Airlines Responded and What Travelers Can Do Now
As the airspace closure took effect, airlines began issuing statements and travel advisories to customers. Southwest paused all operations to and from El Paso in accordance with the FAA order and notified affected customers once the scope of cancellations became clear. The carrier maintained a travel advisory, encouraging customers to monitor their flight status and offering flexible rebooking options, often waiving fare differences for near term changes within a specified window.
United Airlines, which also serves El Paso, issued travel waivers for customers originally scheduled to travel during the closure window, allowing them to rebook onto later dates without additional change fees. SkyWest and Delta, which saw fewer total cancellations but still felt the impact on their regional connections, worked to reaccommodate affected passengers on later flights or alternate routings through their hubs.
For travelers still facing disrupted plans, the most important step in the hours and days after the shutdown is to remain proactive. That means checking flight status frequently, using both airline apps and departure boards at the airport, and confirming whether a canceled flight has automatically rebooked you on a new itinerary. When automatic options do not work, calling the airline or visiting an airport ticket counter as early as possible can improve the chances of securing a seat on limited remaining flights.
Rare and Confusing Security Move Raises Questions
The El Paso airspace shutdown stands out not only for its immediate impact, but also for its rarity. Broad closures of U.S. airspace for security reasons evoke comparisons to the days following the September 11 attacks, when flights across the country were grounded. More localized closures have occurred after major hurricanes or other natural disasters, but those events are usually accompanied by visible physical damage and detailed public explanations.
In this case, the FAA’s use of the phrase “special security reasons” without elaboration left passengers, airlines, and local officials hungry for clarity. Subsequent reporting has pointed to possible cross border drone activity linked to Mexican criminal organizations, which may have prompted federal defense and aviation authorities to act out of an abundance of caution. However, even as the FAA emphasized that there is no ongoing threat to commercial aviation, local leaders in El Paso and neighboring Ciudad Juárez called for more transparency about the nature of the risk and the decision making that led to such a sweeping initial order.
For now, what is clear is that the temporary closure, even when shortened to just a matter of hours, was enough to trigger a day of missed connections, stranded families, and disrupted commerce at a key border city. For a region already balancing the complexities of cross border trade, migration, and security, the events at El Paso International Airport have highlighted how quickly air travel can be upended when national security and aviation operations intersect without clear, timely communication.
Looking Ahead: Recovery, Resilience and Lessons for Travelers
With the airspace reopened and flights resuming, airlines and airport officials in El Paso are now focused on restoring normal operations and working through the backlog of disrupted itineraries. Most carriers expect schedules to stabilize over the next day or two, though passengers on heavily booked routes to Dallas, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Antonio may still encounter full flights and limited same day rebooking options as stranded travelers are gradually accommodated.
The episode is also prompting renewed discussions about resilience and contingency planning, both for the aviation system and for individual travelers. For airports and airlines, the El Paso shutdown will likely feed into broader debates about how federal agencies coordinate and communicate sudden security actions with local authorities and carriers, and how to design more flexible response plans when the airspace is closed on short notice.
For travelers, the events in El Paso serve as a reminder of the value of building buffers into itineraries when connecting through smaller regional hubs, especially on days with critical appointments or events at the destination. Keeping airline apps updated, enabling flight alerts, and knowing basic passenger rights and airline policies on rebooking and refunds can make a measurable difference when the unexpected happens. While no amount of planning can completely eliminate the risk of disruption from rare security events, informed and prepared travelers are better positioned to adapt when skies suddenly and unexpectedly go quiet.