One El Paso airport executive summed up the situation with the image of a cartoon bunny rabbit holding a walkie-talkie and remarking, “WTF.”
Kirby Lee/AP
On the night of Feb. 10, Curtis Dowling, a local Federal Aviation Administration air traffic manager, texted an operations manager at El Paso International Airport, Alexander Rao, with a message he seemingly couldn’t believe.
The FAA’s headquarters, Dowling said, had just issued a “NOTAM” — notice to airmen — indicating airspace over El Paso would soon be closing.
“What’s this for?” Rao shot back.
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