Few people have heard of Gander, Newfoundland, but this Canadian town ended up playing an unsung role in the historic events of September 11, 2001.
Following the terrorist attacks, the United States shut down its airspace. Suddenly, hundreds of flights in the air were rerouted to small airports in Eastern Canada. Gander, which has a storied aviation history as a refueling hub for transatlantic travel in the 1940s and 1950s, had since become a flyover destination. So why did the Gander airport receive 38 jumbo jets with over 7,000 passengers in one 90 minute period on September 11, 2001?
Gander occupies the busiest ocean airspace in the world and falls within the shortest distance between North America and Europe. Though the airport now handles a small amount of daily commuter flights to Halifax and other destinations, the Gander Area Control Center handles approximately 400,000 aircrafts moving in and out of its airspace.
The town of Gander has around 10,000 residents. So, when 6,122 passengers and 473 crew members landed in the town on September 11, 2001, the population all but doubled. With only 500 hotel beds, the town had to scramble to accommodate the displaced travelers.
Watch CBS Travel Editor Peter Greenberg’s report on the Early Show to see how this small community banded together to help those displaced. See how many of the 9/11 refugees built lasting relationships with the locals and are returning to Gander for the 10 year anniversary. And find out about this weekend’s commemorative events, which are all raising money for a scholarship fund for children who lost a parent on 9/11.
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