An extraordinary 10-day restriction on flights around El Paso was issued late Tuesday and lifted hours later, over concerns about the Defense Department’s use of a laser counter-drone weapon.

U.S. senators on Thursday criticized the brief shutdown of El Paso airport over safety concerns around the use of a military laser-based anti-drone system, saying at a hearing that the incident expose...

The restriction prohibited all aircraft operations, including commercial, cargo and general aviation flights, from 11:30 p.m. MST on Feb. 10 through 11:30 p.m. MST on Feb. 20.