Was the airspace around New Orleans also shut down in early February, 2026, along with El Paso's closure due to alleged national security concerns? No, that's not true: The Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over New Orleans during Mardi Gras issued by the FAA for part of each day from Feb. 13-18, 2026 was announced by the Louisiana State Police on Feb. 9, 2026. This was not related to the airspace closure in El Paso, Texas and Santa Teresa, New Mexico, which was lifted within hours.
The alarmist announcement appeared in a post (archived here) published by @TheMaineWonk on Feb. 11, 2026. The post was captioned:
‼️‼️ UPDATE: In addition to El Paso, Air Space has also been shutdown around Santa Teresa, New Mexico for 10 days & New Orleans for 5 days citing National Security.
Congress was NOT notified before hand and two members of Congress tell me they are learning of this in realtime.
This is how the post appeared at the time of writing:
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from x.com/TheMaineWonk/status/2021549844632842705.)
On Feb. 9, 2026 the Louisiana State Police published a notice (archived here) on Facebook. It reads:
Louisiana State Police would like to remind everyone that the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), aka drones, in the New Orleans area, beginning at 5:00 p.m. Friday, February 13th, and continuing until 2:00 a.m., and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Monday from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. and finally Tuesday, the 17th, Mardi Gras, from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Drone pilots should check airspace restrictions and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations before operating their drones. Drones are a vital asset for keeping the residents and visitors safe while monitoring traffic and suspicious activity as we enjoy the Carnival parades and events leading up to Mardi Gras 2026!
The post was accompanied by this graphic:
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from facebook.com/LouisianaStatePolice/posts/pfbid08doExSmeXreRK2adrux8a4GcD3yUbtigXoHXMamwWMEG8JAtPsjP9Dn5B2MuWQgZl.)
The FAA issued the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) number FDC 6/2231 (archived here) for New Orleans, Louisiana on February 11, 2026. The restrictions run from Feb. 13-18, 2026. Each day is listed individually in the notice as the times of day when drone use is prohibited varies (also noted in the graphic above).
The FAA has an information video (archived here) explaining temporary flight restrictions and why the FAA may restrict access to a certain area for a limited time (embedded below). This may include national security situations, major sporting events, and natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes.
The expected restriction during the New Orleans Mardi Gras festivities is not associated with the unexpected sudden closure of the airspace over El Paso, Texas which also included the nearby airspace of Santa Teresa, New Mexico. When first announced, the "temporary flight restrictions for Special Security Reasons" in El Paso were expected to last ten days, but were lifted after only a few hours. The rapidly unfolding nature of the event is reflected in NBC News reporting (archived here and updated here) where a headline was revised from:
All flights to and from El Paso airport in Texas halted for 10 days for 'security reasons,' FAA says
To read:
FAA reopens El Paso airport hours after saying it was grounding flights for 10 days
At 8:54 a.m. on Feb. 11, 2026 the official X account for the FAA posted a brief notice (archived here). It reads:
The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso has been lifted. There is no threat to commercial aviation. All flights will resume as normal.
