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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Oliver Holmes and Victoria Bekiempis

US officials lift 10-day closure of El Paso airspace after balloon mistaken for drone

people wait in line at an airport
Passengers at El Paso international airport after the FAA lifted its temporary closure of airspace on Wednesday. Photograph: José Luis González/Reuters

The top US aviation agency has lifted a surprise 10-day closure of airspace above the US-Mexico border town of El Paso, Texas, just hours after it abruptly announced that it would close off the skies for “special security reasons”.

While some officials claimed that Mexican cartel drones had invaded US airspace, in recent days a balloon was reportedly mistaken for a drone.

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