FAA just announced a 10 day emergency temporary restricted area for a 10 mile radius around El Paso.
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@mattblaze I think the red flag exercise is running at the moment, which I think is in that area of the world
Scratch that, Red flag is Nevada (Nellis)
@ben yeah, almost definitely not that. This was sudden and closes a large civil airport.
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Fort Bliss / Biggs Army Airfield is within the restricted area, which may or may not be related.
This is very unusual. Aside from the disruption- it closes a large metropolitan airport for 10 days- no advance notice was given. So this isn’t for some planned event or operation.
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FAA just announced a 10 day emergency temporary restricted area for a 10 mile radius around El Paso. No flights are permitted from ground level to 18000 feet, grounding all flights to/from the El Paso airport (KELP).
Designed as “national defense airspace”, with “deadly force authorized if aircraft determined to pose a security threat”.
No reason given
@mattblaze
Shutting down a major international airport for 10 days is insane. It'll be impacting something in the neighborhood of 100,000 passengers, plus medical flights, etc. -
@mattblaze
Shutting down a major international airport for 10 days is insane. It'll be impacting something in the neighborhood of 100,000 passengers, plus medical flights, etc.@mattblaze
Only "rational" explanation I can come up with is using it to launch a war with Mexico, seize some territory or whatever, being as it's right on the border. But that's not rational either
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FAA just announced a 10 day emergency temporary restricted area for a 10 mile radius around El Paso. No flights are permitted from ground level to 18000 feet, grounding all flights to/from the El Paso airport (KELP).
Designed as “national defense airspace”, with “deadly force authorized if aircraft determined to pose a security threat”.
No reason given
@mattblaze is that where they were shipping immigrants? Response to ice?
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@mattblaze
Only "rational" explanation I can come up with is using it to launch a war with Mexico, seize some territory or whatever, being as it's right on the border. But that's not rational either@me_valentijn @mattblaze
The current administration is very far from rational. -
Fort Bliss / Biggs Army Airfield is within the restricted area, which may or may not be related.
@mattblaze Because of the base that ICE established at Fort Bliss?
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This is very unusual. Aside from the disruption- it closes a large metropolitan airport for 10 days- no advance notice was given. So this isn’t for some planned event or operation.
@mattblaze Struck me as highly atypical as well. Are you aware of a precedent (beyond 9/11, if even that was)?
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@mattblaze Struck me as highly atypical as well. Are you aware of a precedent (beyond 9/11, if even that was)?
@mattblaze CNN news clip: https://youtu.be/r6c9uacOOiQ?si=KwgJ9wbzBTbe5RPC
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@mattblaze Struck me as highly atypical as well. Are you aware of a precedent (beyond 9/11, if even that was)?
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@douglevin nope.
I just hope it's not an attempt to stave off a new pandemic of some kind.
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FAA just announced a 10 day emergency temporary restricted area for a 10 mile radius around El Paso. No flights are permitted from ground level to 18000 feet, grounding all flights to/from the El Paso airport (KELP).
Designed as “national defense airspace”, with “deadly force authorized if aircraft determined to pose a security threat”.
No reason given
@mattblaze Wow.
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FAA just announced a 10 day emergency temporary restricted area for a 10 mile radius around El Paso. No flights are permitted from ground level to 18000 feet, grounding all flights to/from the El Paso airport (KELP).
Designed as “national defense airspace”, with “deadly force authorized if aircraft determined to pose a security threat”.
No reason given
@mattblaze Probably another Trump whim.
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I just hope it's not an attempt to stave off a new pandemic of some kind.
@joyce @mattblaze @douglevin sadly I think the people in charge don't care about pandemics so that probably isn't it. Maybe we're invading Mexico 🤪 Pretty disturbing they didn't provide a reason
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@joyce @mattblaze @douglevin sadly I think the people in charge don't care about pandemics so that probably isn't it. Maybe we're invading Mexico 🤪 Pretty disturbing they didn't provide a reason
@Jennifer @mattblaze @douglevin
You're probably right. Just an early-morning scary thought.
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This is very unusual. Aside from the disruption- it closes a large metropolitan airport for 10 days- no advance notice was given. So this isn’t for some planned event or operation.
@mattblaze - Yeah, this is weird. The airport didn't know why. The city govt didnt know why. Even the FAA's own Special Operations Support Center didnt know why.
The abruptness and lack of coordination - on top of the length of period and complete lockdown even of medical, military, and police (in addition to cargo and passenger) air - is astounding.
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@mattblaze - Yeah, this is weird. The airport didn't know why. The city govt didnt know why. Even the FAA's own Special Operations Support Center didnt know why.
The abruptness and lack of coordination - on top of the length of period and complete lockdown even of medical, military, and police (in addition to cargo and passenger) air - is astounding.
@mattblaze - My gut tells me this is probably being done for some stupid or contrived (or at least blown out of proportion) reason. Whoever (full chain of command such as it is) issued this probably doesnt know or care about the consequences and ramifications of these actions.
But I have no idea.
Hide and watch for the time being, I guess.
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FAA just announced a 10 day emergency temporary restricted area for a 10 mile radius around El Paso. No flights are permitted from ground level to 18000 feet, grounding all flights to/from the El Paso airport (KELP).
Designed as “national defense airspace”, with “deadly force authorized if aircraft determined to pose a security threat”.
No reason given
@mattblaze Also, AFAIK* “National Defense Airspace” isn’t actually a thing that exists in law or regulation.
TFRs do, of course, but that particular designation, along with the specific rules, appears to be made up for this purpose.
It’s perhaps a nitpick—a TFR can basically impose whatever restrictions deemed necessary. But that phrase doesn’t mean anything legally.
It’s extra weird, is what I’m saying.
*as an instructor certificate holder; also worked a bit on airspace data models for FAA
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@mattblaze - Yeah, this is weird. The airport didn't know why. The city govt didnt know why. Even the FAA's own Special Operations Support Center didnt know why.
The abruptness and lack of coordination - on top of the length of period and complete lockdown even of medical, military, and police (in addition to cargo and passenger) air - is astounding.
https://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/670536-el-paso-closed.html#post12035668
“Well given the proximity to Fort Bliss and the Mexican border. It has been suggested it's a precursor to a raid into Ciudad Juarez to snatch or attack a cartel figure.
Closing the airspace would avoid friendly fire incidents.
Unprecedented though. What the Mexican government would make of that scenario is another thing.”
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FAA just announced a 10 day emergency temporary restricted area for a 10 mile radius around El Paso. No flights are permitted from ground level to 18000 feet, grounding all flights to/from the El Paso airport (KELP).
Designed as “national defense airspace”, with “deadly force authorized if aircraft determined to pose a security threat”.
No reason given
@mattblaze They just got a new truckload of the good chicken nuggets and they don't want the Coast Guard coming in and devouring them all again.
