This is the sort of behavior I'd expect from CA (my home state, by the way), not TX . More likely, however, they "got owned" by several large, TX-based businesses with something at stake: AA, WN and CO (while it's still there). TX was ranked by Chief Executive Magazine as the most business-friendly state in the country and I'm sure that the CEOs of these various airlines had something to say about a potential shutdown, even a temporary one (with hub-and-spoke legacies CO and AA having the most to lose).

I'd have still loved to see it happen, particularly if FAA refused to intervene.