The keyword “El Paso” is currently trending with over 100,000 searches primarily due to a significant aviation incident involving the shutdown of El Paso International Airport. Recent news indicates that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a flight restriction affecting the airport after US authorities took action against drones operated by Mexican cartels that had breached US airspace. This development created a heightened sense of urgency and concern among the public regarding safety and air travel in the area.
The situation unfolded following actions taken by the Pentagon to disable these cartel drones, which prompted the FAA to ground flights at the airport for a period of 10 days. The unusual nature of the threat and the governmental response, including the direct involvement of both the FAA and the Pentagon, drew considerable media attention and sparked public interest, leading to a spike in searches for information related to El Paso.
As details emerged about the reasons behind the airspace shutdown, including international cartel activity impacting domestic safety, individuals sought clarification and updates on the implications for travel and security. The intersection of aviation, national security, and regional implications generated increased curiosity and concern, contributing to the overall search volume associated with El Paso.
Watch the Moment
Internet Reacts
V
A 10-mile radius shutdown from the surface up to 18k feet is massive. Citing ‘Special Security Reasons’ without any further clarification for a city of 700k people is naturally going to lead to wild speculation. The fact that it’s labeled a military TFR and doesn’t even list a point of contact for the controlling authority is what makes this feel different from a standard VIP or POTUS restriction
S
I live in El Paso and even though all the air space is shut down, the bridges from Mexico to the US and US to Mexico are still open and busy as usual
P
Have you seen Josh Brolin or Benicio del Toro?
F
It’s in the El Paso … area. What’s the objective? …to dramatically overreact.
A
Or Javier Bardem
T
I think what feels most concerning is the fact that they gave no notice to El Paso Airport as well as no notice to the Army, and the “will be met with deadly force” is qiote concerning. WTF is going on?!!
L
No Medevacs are allowed either. This is insane. What is happening.
O
No medevacs in a city that frequently needs life flights due to car wrecks. Check “therealfitfamelpaso” on Instagram or Facebook for local reactions and updates; it’s the local gossip and news account.
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S
Trump doesn’t care
T
I’m not seeing “will”, just “may”. Which is standard on TFRs.
D
That is standard phrasing on TFRs, but usually they exist to protect some known asset.. like a person in power is visiting there, or a huge gathering like the puppy bowl.
I
If they launch a war on Mexico they have a “great excuse” to round up all Mexican Americans and inter them. This is Steven Miller’s fantasy made real.
L
Bro i live in texas and my city is like 40% Hispanic. Good luck with that i guess
S
*Texas* is like 40% Hispanic. So is California, and NYC is a little less than 30%. (According to their respective Wiki pages for demographics.) There’s no way, even if they tried.
R
“Now, if you think you do have rights, I have one last assignment for you. Next time you’re at the computer get on the Internet, go to Wikipedia. When you get to Wikipedia, in the search field for Wikipedia, i want you to type in, “Japanese-Americans 1942” and you’ll find out all about your precious fucking rights.” – George Carlin
N
>This is Steven Miller’s fantasy made real. I’m pretty sure when he jacks off to this shit only black smoke and the smell of brimstone comes out.
N
This reeks of a launch platform to attack Mexican cartels. L
A
The NOTAM also states that “Classified as national defense airspace, excludes Mexican airspace, surface-18,000 feet, aircraft may be intercepted with deadly force.” Wtf is going on over there
K
even Medical evacuation flights are blocked >BREAKING: Medical evacuation flights out of El Paso are currently not permitted, a spokesperson for UMC tells Faytuks Network, due to a strict NOTAM in effect for the next 10 days. https://x.com/FaytuksNetwork/status/2021527462690316611
8
This screams “a classified military plane had mechanical issues and was forced to land at a civilian airport” to me. It’s the only benign answer that would prompt this kind of behavior. EDIT: Nope! It was [cartel drones.](https://x.com/GarrettHaake/status/2021588429457236325)
I
For 10 days?
R
Yeah, this is… weird. Every benign answer makes sense at first, but then none of them do when you consider the length. One would think if it were preparing for military action that it would be a larger area. I really do not know.
L
The airspace has already reopened. Seems like multiple reason for the closure but the military was testing stuff too close to civilian flight paths for the FAAs liking.
8
To safely repair something with an exotic design you can’t load on a truck and cover in a tarp? Sure.
T
Why the fuck would it land at El Paso International airport when the base airfield is literally right there less than 3 miles away?
A
Military buildup in preparation for an invasion? He did threaten to invade a Latin American country yesterday. “President Donald Trump said Tuesday he plans to launch “very hard” land strikes in Latin America “.
U
FOR WHAT! being offended by Bad Bunny
M
If he’s so angry about that, he should pull another Maduro and capture and imprison the president of Bad Bunny’s country…
D
Agreed. That Puerto Rican president is 100% in the files as a pedo.
M
Over a million times. Lock him up!
E
If he’s so angry about that, he should seize PR and make it the 51st state!
L
To distract from the Epstein files that totally absolve him of wrong doing of course.
H
This admin is so dumb we really can’t even put it past them to invade friggin Mexico because they got their panties in a twist over a Puerto rican 😭😭😭
C
Is he gonna go after Canada in the middle of winter next year and start a war on 2 fronts? That would ….not be unprecedented
G
*Canada burns the tar sands while retreating.*
T
Apparently the army wasn’t even notified prior to
0
The military has the holy duty to deflect attention from his child loving orangeness. apparently by conducting a raid in the borderregion of el paso.
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P
So, the Obamas should sue him now.
J
Didn’t he say a couple weeks back they were going to start military operations against the cartels in Mexico? That’s what I’d assume this is about: starting his cartel war.
S
Let’s be very clear that even if it’s “against the cartels”, there will still be innocent civilian deaths wrapped up in this. That and respecting mexican sovereignty is why this has always been a terrible idea. Oh yeah and also that it would basically be bringing war directly within our domestic boundaries. I think most countries actively try and avoid conflict with their neighboring countries as a matter of common sense
S
The additional closure about 15 miles west of Santa Teresa, NM is the more concerning part to me. Looking at B4Ufly, it is a huge trapezoid covering a large swath of desert. This area was a known smuggling route through the Wilderness Areas and National Monument before the DOD was given control of the BLM land between highway 9 and Mexico.
R
My thought is something crashed and will require cleanup and they don’t want low altitude flights seeing it easily. Something related to operations over the border they don’t want to reveal yet. Edit: it’s over, they lifted the restriction. Supposedly anti-drone tech being tested.
T
commercial satellites will photograph the area like a dozen times each day. i don’t think flight restrictions just to reduce visibility would be the reason
W
These companies can and do redact imagery when required to do so by the federal government
B
Other government’s satellites are probably more of a concern than American companies satellites from the sounds of it, with this shutdown being military related
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I doubt its a crash or a satellite they’ve lost control of. If it was a crash it would’ve already been reported in some way for flight intercept potential. The US knows where all its satellites are constantly. If it was a satellite and they lost control completely, it could have landed literally anywhere on the globe and it would have been an international incident. If it was a satellite and they still had some positional control, they would aim in into a large open area on the pacific ocean and either attempt to recover or destroy it. My bet is this is cartel related since Trump said yesterday he was planning large land strikes into Latin America.
K
the aviation geeks are all pretty freaked out/confused by this planes being grounded for 10 days at the el paso airport with no way to fly them out would be an enormous loss of money for the airlines
T
I work for one of the big 3 airlines in the US and we’re absolutely baffled. No idea what the hell is happening
Additional Sources:
El Paso Times – Pentagon disabled cartel drones before FAA closed El Paso airspace: Updates
The New York Times – Officials Claim Drone Incursion Led to Shutdown of El Paso Airport
