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Operation Yellow Ribbon is the operation Transport Canada, the Canadian transportation agency, launched due to the September 11 attacks. The operation started after the FAA grounded all planes across the United States and diverted incoming international flights to Canada.
The Operation
At 09:21 ET (13:21 UTC), a little over half an hour after the first attack, Transport Canada activated its Situation Centre (SitCen), their operations center, in Ottawa, which quickly filled up with key Transport Canada personnel. In addition, several other critical organizations, including NavCanada, the Canadian air navigation agency, National Defence, the RCMP, CSIS, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) (now Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)), assigned staff to the SitCen to lend support.
The SitCen staff established contact with other key members of the Canadian aviation community, including the Air Transport Association of Canada and local airport authorities, with American regulators - notably, the FAA, and international civil aviation authorities.
The operation officially began at 09:45 ET (13:45 UTC), when the FAA closed down U.S. airspace as a result of the attacks. After learning that the FAA had closed down U.S. airspace, Transport Minister David Collenette gave orders that Canadian airports be open only for outgoing police, military, and humanitarian flights, and incoming U.S.-bound international flights. This was the first time Canada had to shut down its airspace.
About 500 flights were en route to the United States at the time of the attacks. Transport Canada instructed NavCanada to give permission for U.S.-bound international flights that were at least halfway towards their destination to land at the nearest Canadian airport, depending where they were coming from and how much fuel they had. Planes were entering Canadian airspace at a rate of one to two planes per minute.
SitCen staff were working on two things during the operation:
- Where to land the aircraft
- How to screen, deplane, and clear tens of thousands of passengers through immigration and customs.
The first airport to receive diverted flights was CFB Goose Bay, which received 7 aircraft; fourteen other airports from coast to coast would also recieve the diverted flights.
Atlantic Flights
NavCanada instructed flights coming from Europe to avoid the major airports in Central Canada as a security measure, because they were among the busiest airports in the country. The airports that pilots were asked to avoid, although they did take some diverted flights, were:
Gander International Airport, which was the first North American airport on the trans-Atlantic route, took in 39 large aircraft. The total number of passengers and crew accomodated at Gander was about 6,600. The total population of Gander is less than 10,000 people, so needless to say, the effort in accomodating all of these unexpected guests was monumental.
Pacific Flights
Most of the flights coming from Asia had no other choice but to land at Vancouver International Airport, because it was the only major Canadian airport on the West coast capable of handling the large airplanes used for trans-Pacific flights.
There were also incidents in which U.S. and Canadian fighter jets escorted jets into airports. The military escorted 2 jets into Whitehorse, including a Korean Air 747 that was believed to be hijacked. Due to concerns about potential hijacking, all of the large prominent buildings in Whitehorse were evacuated, as well many of the buildings in Anchorage, where the plane was to have landed. The misunderstanding was caused by a malfunctioning transponder. At the end, the hijacking turned out to be false, the Korean Air 747 was running low on fuel. A spokesperson at the airport later said there was a communication problem, but witnesses said that when the plane landed, the RCMP ordered the crew out at gunpoint.
Release of News
Before the planes landed, most of the pilots did not tell their passengers about the attacks, fearing that it would cause fear and shock among the passengers. On some planes, the pilots were not told what had happened. One pilot told Global: "When we were in the air, we really didn't know what was going on. All we heard was security measures and we were diverted."
Only after landing did the pilots tell their passengers what had happened, and on some planes, the pilots walked into the cabin and told their passengers what had happened. Due to security concerns, passengers waited for hours to get off the planes.
Aftermath
Totals
Over the time that has followed, there were conflicting reports as to how many aircraft and how many passengers landed. Transport Canada said over 33,000 passengers on 224 flights, NavCanada said 239 flights. Jean Chretien, who was Prime Minister at the time, and the current prime minister, Paul Martin, both said the number of flights was anywhere between 225 and 250 and that the number of passengers was anywhere between 30,000 and 45,000.
Generally, these numbers are accepted: In all, 44,519 passengers, most of them Americans, on 255 flights were diverted to airports in Canada, with more than half landing in Atlantic Canada airports - Goose Bay, Gander, St. John's, and Stephenville, all in Newfoundland and Labrador, and in Halifax, all of which took in flights that were coming from Europe.
The airport that received the highest number of flights was Halifax International - 44, while Vancouver International received the highest number of passengers - 8,500.
Transport Canada and airports involved in the operation also reported a surge in traffic at their web sites for up-to-the-minute information concerning news releases, FAQ's and diverted flight information. Just to name a few:
- Transport Canada [1] (http://www.tc.gc.ca) reported that on September 12, 2001, the day after the attacks, there were 47,000 visits to their web site on that day alone.
- Halifax International Airport [2] (http://www.hiaa.ca) reported that in the month of September alone, there were 2.1 million visits to their web site, and in October, half a million, both are far above the 40,000 to 50,000 visits a month.
Response and Honours
Operation Yellow Ribbon saw the best of Canadians as they helped the stranded air travelers during a time of tragedy for their American friends and neighbours down south. Over the months that followed, Chretien and his wife, Aline, lauded the Canadians for opening their hearts and homes to the stranded. The U.S. ambassador to Canada, Paul Cellucci, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, and provicial premiers would also do the same. Airports also received thank-you messages from the passengers, airlines that had flights diverted, and U.S. immigration and customs for the kindness and generosity. The operation also resulted in numerous stories about the kindness and generosity given to the stranded passengers.
Chretien, Clarkson, and Cellucci all said that Operation Yellow Ribbon, as well as Canada's memorial service to honour the victims of the attacks, on Parliament Hill, which over 100,000 people attended, were just some of the ways as to how Canadians responded to the crisis that struck their American friends and neighbours down south.
Some airports were cited for how they handled the crisis. To name a few:
- The British Columbia Aviation Council presented its 2001 Airport Management Award to Vancouver International for how they handled the situation, citing that it overcame many challenges in a professional and compassionate way.
- The Canadian Public Relations Society (Nova Scotia) presented Halifax International an Amethyst Award in the Crisis Communications category, for best program honours for the Authoritys crisis communications response to the situation.
On September 11, 2002, to mark the first anniversary of 9/11, about 2,500 people who were among 6,600 passengers on 39 flights that were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, gathered at Gander International Airport for Canada's memorial service to mark the first anniversary. Chretien said to them that "9/11 will live long in memory as a day of terror and grief. But thanks to the countless acts of kindness and compassion done for those stranded visitors here in Gander and right across Canada it will live forever in memory as a day of comfort and of healing." He commended Operation Yellow Ribbon when he said: "You did yourselves proud, ladies and gentlemen, and you did Canada proud."
On November 30, 2004, Prime Minister Paul Martin mentioned the operation for the very first time when he spoke during a state dinner at the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, in honour of U.S. President George W. Bush, during the latter's visit to Canada [3] (http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news.asp?category=2&id=343). The following day, Bush mentioned it for the first time as they both mentioned the operation at Pier 21 in Halifax [4] (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/12/20041201-4.html). Both Martin and Bush also gave speeches thanking Canadians for their efforts. Martin began his speech by talking about the operation [5] (http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/news.asp?category=2&id=345). On December 5, he mentioned the operation he appeared on CNN in an interview with Wolf Blitzer on his Sunday talk show, "Late Edition." [6] (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1102273301434_10#)
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