The FAA’s abrupt shutdown of airspace over El Paso last week was lifted almost as quickly as it was imposed. But the speed of the reversal has obscured a deeper and more consequential issue: how civilian aviation safety is managed when military counter-drone operations spill into shared airspace without clear coordination.
In El Paso, the problem was not necessarily that a drone posed a direct threat to a commercial flight. The problem was that military assets, including unmanned aircraft and counter-drone systems, were operating in or near airspace routinely used by arriving and departing passenger jets. Once the FAA could no longer confidently predict where military aircraft or countermeasures would be deployed, its options narrowed quickly.
The restriction imposed around El Paso covered a 10 nautical mile radius up to 18,000 feet. That is a wide vertical and lateral swath for a metropolitan airport that normally supports continuous commercial traffic. Even more telling, the original notice indicated the restriction could last up to 10 days, a duration completely inconsistent with a short-lived drone incursion.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on Live and Let's Fly.
