On September 11, 2001, following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) took the unprecedented step of completely grounding all domestic flights and closing American airspace.
With hundreds of international, transoceanic flights already in mid-air and bound for the United States, the Canadian government launched Operation Yellow Ribbon to immediately clear potentially compromised aircraft from U.S. skies.
Transport Canada ordered all incoming traffic that had passed the point of no return over the Atlantic and Pacific to be diverted to Canadian military and civilian airports.
Over the course of the operation, between 225 and 240 aircraft carrying more than 33,000 passengers were safely grounded at 17 different airports across Canada. Smaller east-coast hubs bore the brunt of the emergency landings, including Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the small town of Gander, Newfoundland.
Gander International Airport alone received 38 wide-body planes and over 6,500 stranded passengers and crew, an influx that instantly increased the tiny community's population by over 60 percent.
As passengers sat stranded for hours on tarmac runways while security screenings were processed, local Canadian communities mobilized extraordinary volunteer efforts. Residents opened their homes, schools, community centers, and places of worship to shelter, feed, and clothe the unexpected guests, whom Newfoundland locals warmly referred to as "Come From Aways."
For several days, citizens provided free meals, bedding, healthcare, and emotional support until U.S. airspace reopened, a heartwarming display of international solidarity that later inspired books, documentaries, and the hit Broadway musical Come From Away.
Operation Yellow Ribbon involves the quiet logistics of caring for thousands of displaced non-human passengers.
In addition to thousands of human travelers, dozens of diverted flights carried animals in their cargo holds, including 19 dogs, 10 cats, 2 rare Bonobo chimpanzees, and a pair of endangered African monkeys bound for a zoo. In Gander, local SPCA workers and volunteers were refused tarmac access at first due to post-attack security lockdown protocols. Undeterred, they spent days negotiating access, crawling into dark cargo holds to feed, clean, exercise, and care for the distressed animals inside the planes until the grounded aircraft were finally cleared to depart.
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