Canada sheltered nearly 240 diverted flights after 9/11 airspace closure
When the US closed its airspace on September 11, 2001, Canada accepted almost 240 transatlantic flights that could not return, landing tens of thousands of passengers at airports such as Gander.
On September 11, 2001, the FAA closed all US airspace at 9:45 a.m., roughly an hour after the first hijacked aircraft hit the World Trade Center. Around 4,500 planes in US airspace were told to land at once. Another 590 flights bound for the country from abroad had to turn back or divert elsewhere.
Nearly 240 of those inbound flights, carrying between 30,000 and 45,000 passengers, had passed the point of no return. Canada let them land.
The Canadian transport ministry activated its situation centre in Ottawa 18 minutes after the second tower was hit. Nav Canada, which runs the country's air navigation services, activated emergency plans and set up command centres. Canada shut its own airspace too, but exempted aircraft that had been headed to the United States and could no longer return.
Gander Airport in Newfoundland received 38 wide-body aircraft that day, according to the article. The small town and others across Canada suddenly had to house and feed tens of thousands of stranded travellers.
Sources
- aerotelegraph.comAls Kanada nach 9/11 innerhalb kürzester Zeit fast 240 Flugzeuge und Zehntausende Menschen aufnahm