Stranded in Canada: How the diverted flights changed the lives of passenges and the Canadians who helped them
At 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, the FAA ordered the first non-planned closure of U.S. airspace.
Takeoffs were halted and more than 4,500 planes still in the air were ordered to land immediately.
Many overseas planes were diverted from U.S. airports. Dozens of flights were suddenly headed to Canada.
Seventeen airports took in more than 200 flights.
Whitehorse
Planes landed: 3 Vancouver
Planes landed: 34
Passengers: About 8,500
 Yellowknife
Planes landed: 1
 Edmonton
Planes landed: 6
 Calgary
Planes landed: 13
 Winnipeg
Planes landed: 15
 Hamilton
Planes landed: 4
 Toronto
Airport: Pearson
Planes landed: 14
 Montreal
Airport: Mirabel
Planes landed: 10
 Montreal
Airport: Dorval
Planes landed: 7
 Moncton
Planes landed: 10
 Halifax
Planes landed: 40
Passengers: About 7,300 Goose Bay, NL
Planes landed: 7
 Stephenville, NL
Planes landed: 8
 St. John's, NL
Planes landed: 21
 Deer Lake, NL
Planes landed: 1
 Gander, NL
Planes landed: 38
Passengers: More than 6,000
More than 30,000 passengers were on those planes. But Canadian airspace was closed to takeoffs. Many weary travellers could do nothing but wait.
People in communities across Canada opened their hearts and homes to passengers until they could get back in the air.
The last flight left on Sept. 16, but the legacy of the Canadians' kindness lives on today.
Intro
For one Canadian and one Brit, a diverted 9/11 flight meant the beginning of an unexpected transatlantic friendship.
Fewer than 10,000 people live in Gander, N.L. So how could the town cope with the influx of 6,700 passengers? Mayor Claude Elliott says the town's people made all the difference.
For Beulah Cooper of Gander, helping others is just a way of life. So after the planes landed, she just did what came naturally. It was a gesture that passengers like Monica Walsh of Seattle will never forget
Wayne d'Entremont and his co-workers at Halifax airport became the choreographers of an intricate dance on 9/11, as they arranged more than three dozen jumbo jets wing tip to wing tip on a narrow strip of asphalt.
Even 10 years later, tears come to the eyes of Halifax airport employee Kelly Martin when she tells the stories of helping stranded 9/11 passengers.
From his post-9/11 experiences as a standed passenger, American Michael Walsh found a story to be told. So he did, in a play called Between Takeoff and Landing.
Layne Daggett's phone rang early and often on 9/11. Stranded passengers were calling Vancouver's airport chaplain for help. And city residents, from teens to 84-year-olds, were ready to pitch in.
Elaine Caiazzo of Long Island, N.Y., is coming back to Gander. She wants to say thanks to the people who helped her while she was stranded. It's a journey inspired by coincidence and an article from her local newspaper.