![A Southwest Airlines 737 is loaded for a flight at El Paso International Airport. [Credit: Shutterstock/Royce Ngiam]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-12-at-1.42.39-PM.png)
A new possible explanation for the brief shutdown of the airspace in El Paso, Texas, surfaced late Wednesday—confusion over the testing of an anti-drone laser at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Sources cited by CBS News said the Defense Department has been experimenting with a high-powered laser at Fort Bliss, which abuts El Paso International Airport (KELP). The technology was used by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) earlier this week to target a suspected drone, which turned out to be a party balloon.
