Air Travellers On, And After September 11th, 2001

[Magnum Mike]

My girlfriend at the time and I were planning on going to Los Cabos/Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in September of 2001, and we were talking about it around April or May of that year, but around July she found out that she was not able to get the week we wanted, which if I remember correctly was in early September of 2001, so I guess we lucked out.

We did go to Los Cabos in early September of 2002, in fact on September 11th, 2002, we watched the commemoration for the first anniversary of the September 11th attacks on TV over there (in Cabo San Lucas)

[Mattie]

I lived in the NY metro area during the attacks. What I remember most about air travel afterwards, was the complete lack of anything in the sky for days . During daylight hours we could see military jets, but at night, nothing but stars.

My brother was on a business trip, and had a terrible time trying to find a rental car. Dealers in the NJ/NY area actually sold cars to some people with no other means of transportation when the rental lots were empty.

[Deja Vu Again]

I had a European trip planned for 6 months on Sept 13. We were supposed to fly into Vienna and then drive to Hungary. Needless to say, that didn't happen. The good news was, we didn't have any reservations anywhere except the car and the first night hotel.

After the initial freak out of the events, we still decided to go when the planes resumed. My family and friends begged us not to but I didn't care... I figured, if I cancelled my trip, then "they" won. I wasn't about to let that happen.

We were one of the first planes in the air and I was pretty weirded out. I couldn't stop thinking about what those people must have thought heading into the buildings It made for an uneasy flight but the rest of the trip was amazing. The security was crazy at all the borders and airports. There were military guys with guns checking all the planters and trashcans at the airport near my waiting area in the airport on the way back.

We also had alot of people tell us how sorry they were about what had happened. All the publications in every country had it as front news. It was a crazy time.

[coo77]

This is a picture of Gander Airport in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in eastern Canada on 9-11-01.
http://www.theganderconnection.org/images/iancoolen/Gander-Airport-September-12-low-res.jpg (broken link)

This small airport with long runways usually only sees a few small commuter planes per day. Its large runways though made is a hub for European flights to land at once American air space closed. It recieved 38 international flights, second in Canada to only Halifax that got 44. The small town of Gander has 10,000 people and received 7,000 passengers from the 38 widebody jets that landed. The town of Gander became famous for the welcoming and opening arms it showed towards the passengers. Obviously a town of 10,000 did not have enough hotels for 7,000 people so many residents took up passengers in their own homes and churches, schools, businesses, etc... set up cots in their buildings as the residents fed and took care of the passengers. So many passengers were moved by the town's generosity that 2,800 passengers returned on the first anniversary of 9-11 to pay respects to 9-11 victims with the town who they felt an inseparable bond to.

Also, here is a picture of Halifax Airport that received 47 flights that were crossing the Atlantic and could not land in the USA. Bizarre to see those runways covered along their entire length by widebody jets.