Passengers board flights after ground stop lifted, but confusion lingers

EL PASO, TX (KVIA)-- After having their bags checked and waiting for updates, passengers at El Paso International Airport are now boarding flights they didn’t think they would be able to take just hours earlier.

One passenger said he had no idea about the disruption until he got there and initially believed his flight was simply delayed.

Nicole Carlson Harris, who was visiting El Paso for work, said she received a text from Southwest Airlines warning that her flight might be delayed or canceled. Harris said she was in line to extend her rental car when she got another notification saying the ground stop had been lifted.

“I was really excited that I could get home today and that I didn't have to try to drive, you know, to Albuquerque or Midland to get another flight,” Harris said. “But also kind of confused as to what's going on because there hasn't been a lot of notifications.”

Passengers described the situation as “weird,” saying they were first told there would be a 10-day ground stop, only to learn hours later that it had been lifted. The abrupt change left some concerned, especially after local leaders said they had little information about why flights had been canceled.

Travelers also pointed to the potential financial impact, saying a prolonged shutdown could have meant significant losses for both the airline and workers.

Though flights resumed and passengers began boarding, concerns remained.

“I’m concerned because I’ll be coming back,” said Emelio Squire. “I don’t know if it’s still going to be available for them to come back on.”

Evan Isaias said the short turnaround raised questions.

“What I’m concerned [about] is that they lifted it in such a short time period,” Isaias said. “So I don’t know if later on during the week they could say, ‘No, we’re actually going to reinforce those rules’ where we can’t have planes coming out. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.”