The Federal Aviation Administration ended what was initially announced as a 10-day suspension of all flights over El Paso, Texas on Wednesday.

Federal aviation authorities abruptly lifted a planned 10-day closure of El Paso International Airport just hours after announcing the temporary grounding of all flights over unspecified reasons.

The Federal Aviation Administration walked back an order grounding all flights to and from the El Paso International Airport on Wednesday.

The testing, which was taking place near Fort Bliss, was of high-energy lasers that are designed to protect against drones from drug cartels that could cross over the U.S. border, three of the sources say.

APL’s involvement in unmanned aircraft safety traces back to its earlier work on collision avoidance for manned aviation. Researchers supported the FAA’s development of the Airborne Collision Avoidance System, helping to design and validate algorithms that became the safety net for pilots worldwide.

The El Paso airspace closure highlights tensions between counter-UAS technology, aviation safety, and federal authority near airports.

The Bombardier Challenger 600 carrying eight people crashed on takeoff at Bangor International Airport around 7:45 p.m. Sunday night as New England and much of the country grappled with a massive winter storm.

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration's decision to briefly close El Paso airport to all traffic was prompted by safety concerns over testing of a new laser-based counter-drone technology at the nearby U.