The towns that opened its doors to diverted flights after 9/11

When the skies over the United States were shut down following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, airports across Newfoundland and Labrador became unexpected destinations for thousands of stranded airline passengers.

St. John’s International Airport was among them.

Twenty-seven aircraft were diverted to St. John’s in the aftermath of the attacks, carrying roughly 4,400 passengers and crew members who suddenly found themselves thousands of kilometres from their intended destinations.

The flights were among dozens diverted to airports across the province as authorities scrambled to find places for aircraft that could no longer land in the United States.

Gander received the largest number, with 37 aircraft landing there, while eight went to Stephenville, five to Happy Valley-Goose Bay and one to Deer Lake.

In total, 78 diverted aircraft landed in Newfoundland and Labrador, carrying more than 13,000 passengers and crew.

For St. John’s, the arrival of thousands of unexpected visitors created an enormous logistical challenge.

Hotels, community organizations, businesses and volunteers stepped forward to help accommodate and care for passengers while they waited for the airspace restrictions to be lifted.

The response became part of a broader story of Newfoundland and Labrador communities opening their doors to people who had been caught far from home by an unprecedented international crisis.

The experience also underscored the province’s strategic importance to transatlantic aviation. Located on the eastern edge of North America, Newfoundland and Labrador has long served as an important stopping point for aircraft crossing the Atlantic.

While the passengers who landed in St. John’s were initially strangers brought together by circumstance, many left with memories of the people who helped them during one of the most uncertain periods in modern aviation history.

More than two decades later, the events of Sept. 11 remain a defining moment in aviation history — and for thousands of people who were diverted to Newfoundland and Labrador, they also became a story about unexpected hospitality in the middle of a global crisis.

This is the first part in a multi-day series about the events of September 11, 2001.