One was from Belgium, and there was a Lufthansa plane and two Virgin Atlantic flights from the UK. "So from my perspective, it appeared that there wasn't a single person in this town that wasn't helping out," adds Teurff. 38 aircraft were redirected and landed unexpectedly at Gander on September 11, 2001. “It was just too horrendous - we went up by the airport and we saw all the planes on the Tarmac - not realising they’d been there for hours and the people were all on them.”. He had it with him on board, and switched it on to document what was happening as he and his fellow passengers sat on the airplane. Within hours, a total of 38 planes had landed at the small airport. Others panicked.
If it had been one extra plane, or even two, locals wouldn’t even have known, and the passengers would have been sent to hotels.
"We were exhausted. “I knew there were planes landing because I had colleagues that had cell phones,” Ms Davis told nine.com.au. As well as Gander locals being asked if they could put up passengers at their homes, schools were among public buildings consigned to house some of the thousands of passengers.
On his most recent visit to Gander, Tuerff -- who also wrote. Later, Tuerff returned with the show in 2016, as things came full circle. Ms Davis clearly remembers greeting her first passenger, and leading him to the gym, where children’s PE mats were laid out. The production has just opened in London has won multiple theatre awards and a movie is in the works. And that's exactly words taken from an interview I did with the writers of the musical," Tuerff tells CNN Travel. That was, until the tenth anniversary of 9/11, when a pair of writers, Irene Sankoff and David Hein turned up. Airplanes from Eastern Europe continued to land in Gander, often before heading down to Cuba. The 1950s terminal, once the epitome of chic, is still a draw -- remaining virtually unchanged and a window back to a "Mad-Men"-esque era. The air stewards had to keep the peace on board offering free alcohol and food.
The Queen herself flew to Gander to open the modernist, swish new lounge, the epitome of mid-century chic with furniture by acclaimed designers including Charles and Ray Eames, and Jacques Guillon. He never stays in a hotel, he says. By clicking “I agree” below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. Contact reporter Sarah Swain: SSwain@nine.com.au, Carers at Epping Gardens break silence over deadly outbreak, 'Unusual' Antarctic polar vortex could mean cold wet Aussie summer, Rape survivor bravely faces attacker in court, Mother fined after ice cream is mistaken for mobile phone, How China and Russia could view the end of the Trump presidency, Longtime adviser Ron Klain chosen as Biden's chief of staff, TODAY IN HISTORY: Elusive 'Great Train Robber' stays free in tropical hideaway. There they sat, unmoving, for hours as authorities ascertained what was going on and how to tackle the security threat. Gander Airport is one of the world's most important -- but it's possible you've never heard of it.
While she was sent home by the school principal, within three hours, she was back. But quickly, it became clear a major operation needed to be launched to handle the extra residents – especially as there was no way of knowing when airspace would reopen.
“It was very sullen at first- they were all exhausted. You also agree to our Terms of Service.
Shortly after making this change in direction, the pilot announced over the intercom, first in French and then in English, that there had been a terrorist attack in the United States and the aircraft would land in Gander. “We had people who were supposed to be in the towers - people who had missed planes, we had one gentleman who gave his business card to the librarian and said ‘can you help me find my son?’. Ms Davis and her colleagues set up what became an operation of military precision - in fact one passenger questioned why the military hadn’t been called in to help. Almost 10 years after those stranded people arrived in the international lounge, bone weary and shaken, many are planning to return. So, when American Air Traffic Control was shut down as the terrorists began their deadly killing spree that Tuesday morning, Canada stepped in.
Gander Airport was where transatlantic aircraft were redirected as part of what was dubbed Operation Yellow Ribbon. Then 9-11 hit. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. Everywhere you can imagine, people just offering you food and drink.". In peacetime, as aviation boomed and cross-continental travel became more commonplace, Gander became a refueling stop for commercial aircraft. In the late 1950s, the town of Gander grew around the airport to accommodate the growing numbers of workers. They carried a total of 6600 scared and confused passengers to the town with a population of 10,000. The airport terminal, however, hadn't changed much since its early military days. Today's busiest airports are transport hubs that serve bustling metropolises or sprawling states -- think Los Angeles International Airport or Tokyo Haneda -- these airports grew out of a demand for travel. "The Canadian government decided that we weren't leaving a good impression of the country when they walk into an old World War II hangar -- and so they decided they would build a new terminal, but they would do it very artistically.". 10 years after those stranded people first arrived in that international lounge, bone weary and shaken, many returned to visit Gander. Then 9-11 hit. "I don't think there's too many airports in the world that they made a Broadway play about," says Pinsett. And she certainly wouldn’t have dreamed the role her and her neighbours took that week would inspire a Grammy-nominated Broadway musical which is now heading to Australia - complete with a character based on her. Their story is one of many dramatized in the Broadway show. His father worked at the airport, which opened in 1938, and the family lived in buildings on site. It cost an incredible $3 million to build. On some airplanes, the atmosphere was jovial as people decided the only way to cope was to drink and stay upbeat. This content is currently not available in your region. It was then that he met the show's Toronto-based husband-and-wife writer team, Irene Sankoff and David Hein, who were developing the book, music and lyrics. (Supplied) “We heard all the hotel rooms were booked. Suddenly, refueling wasn't necessary and air routes bypassed Gander and headed straight for the US.
Tuerff and the other thousands of displaced air travelers were welcomed with open arms by the residents of Gander, invited into their homes, clothed, fed and looked after. The writers of the musical have signed a movie deal to bring "Come From Away" to the big screen and filming will take place at the airport. "What was unique [about Gander] was the proportion of the people that live there to the number of temporary refugees that they'd taken in," says Teurff. Canada's Gander International Airport in Newfoundland offered refuge to 7,000 displaced airplane passengers on 9/11 and inspired the hit musical "Come from Away." Kevin Tuerff, pictured, saw his experiences in Gander dramatized on stage in the hugely successful show "Come From Away.". ", "People, foreigners from 90 countries, strangers -- and potentially other terrorists -- and they didn't have to let us in.
The small town of Gander on the Canadian island of Newfoundland, where Mrs Davis lives with partner Leo, was already known among aircraft enthusiasts. Tuerff has carried the experience into his own life -- each year on September 11, he commemorates his Gander experience by closing shop on his New York City office for the day and giving his employees a $100 bill, encouraging them to put it towards a good deed for a stranger. “Basically we were primary and elementary teachers and we were trained to take care of people and that was just what we did.”. They were unable to get their hold luggage – meaning some carried as little as a handbag or briefcase.
“One was married to a police officer and one an air traffic controller. The animal welfare woman who rescued the 19 animals stuck on the planes- including two chimps, also features. By midnight, desks and chairs were rearranged, makeshift bedding and food were brought in, and passengers started to arrive. Tuerff had recently bought a digital video camera.
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There's a perfect beach for every week of the year. Gander's historical airport added a new claim to fame to its list on 9/11- when it was one of the Canadian airports planes were diverted to.
But the writers’ vision took off, and Come From Away opened on Broadway in 2017. And while she was rewarded for what she’d done for the Virgin Atlantic passengers with a lavish trip to London to see the sights and meet Richard Branson, life returned to normal. Passengers who couldn’t converse could identify where they needed to call, and teachers dialling the operator of that county directly. As well as sharing passengers’ stories it also tells tales from the crew, the pilots - and even a love story which emerged in the town. And by the next morning, the school housed 770 people from around the globe, made up of passengers from four flights.
Ms Davis asked to help co-ordinate volunteer teachers. Gander, home today to fewer than 12,000 people, has a slightly different origin story. Elliott says that, as mayor, the decision to welcome the displaced people with open arms went without saying.
But after we got through security, it was as if we walked into a surprise party, there were hundreds of people inside with food set up on tables. Gander resident Claude Elliott was mayor of the town from 1996 to 2017. By then, Pinsent was working as an air traffic controller, a time he remembers fondly.
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As terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, closed American air space, 38 passenger planes heading west over the Atlantic with more than 6,500 passengers and crew were diverted to Gander. But after the fall of the Berlin Wall, times were changing. From here, British aviators Alcock and Brown embarked on the.
But they did.". Today, Gander Airport's terminal retains its mid-century aesthetic. On 9/11, Canada accepted more than 200 planes forced to reroute when the U.S. government closed its airspace. Within hours, the world was shaken to its core by the terrorist attacks in the United States. Meanwhile, Mayor Elliott and the people of Gander began to frantically prepare food, shelter and hospitality for the displaced people about to descend on their town. Courtesy Gander International Airport Authority. And while airspace reopened after three days, passengers were left in limbo for up to five days because of a huge backlog of planes. “I’m a retired school teacher- this is not how I thought my retirement would go,” she said. Tuerff has returned to Gander a few times -- first, he says, for the 10th anniversary. It tells the story of what happened in Gander that week. "I didn't know where we were. Auto news: New Jaguar Land Rover shape-shifting seat mimics walking - caradvice.com.au. She’s even started being recognised among the show’s fans.
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