Gander, Newfoundland, a town of about 10,000 in 2001, became an international symbol of hospitality after residents and local institutions sheltered nearly 7,000 passengers from 38 planes diverted there on Sept. 11, 2001. The emergency response and the story that emerged — later dramatized in the musical Come From Away — have left a lasting imprint on the town’s identity and economy, which officials say has helped drive population growth in the years since.
Air traffic controllers grounded U.S. airspace for the first time in American history after hijacked airliners struck targets in the United States. With more than 4,000 aircraft aloft and no safe landing sites in the U.S., hundreds of planes were rerouted to Canadian airports; 238 were sent to airports across the country and 38 landed at Gander International Airport because of its long, rarely used runways. Over five days the town’s population nearly doubled as it hosted passengers and crew.
Local officials and volunteers rapidly mobilized. An emergency plan developed after a 1997 provincial mandate brought together the Red Cross, social services, the Salvation Army, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the local hospital. Schools, churches, community centres and private homes were turned into shelters. Bus drivers who had planned to picket abandoned their action and transported passengers, while community members supplied bedding, clothing and food.
"I don’t like to say it was an enjoyable experience, because what was happening was horrific," Percy Farwell, Gander’s mayor and deputy mayor at the time, told the Daily Mail in recent interviews. "But there was an oasis discovered here, and I think that was very, very beneficial to relieving that tension, stress, fear and anxiety we were all consumed in." Former College of the North Atlantic administrator Mac Moss, who coordinated housing at the college, said staff worked around the clock to accommodate hundreds of stranded people and later documented those experiences in his book, Flown Into the Arms of Angels: Newfoundland and Labrador 9-11 Untold Stories and Unsung Heroes.
Accounts from the town describe a range of responses: school gyms filled with cots, kitchens providing continuous meals, volunteers entertaining children and overcoming language barriers, and residents performing a local "Screech-In" ceremony to welcome passengers as honorary Newfoundlanders. Anecdotes from hosts and guests highlight the informal generosity that characterized the relief effort — from lending clothing to sharing homes and time.
Gander’s role during those days reverberated beyond immediate humanitarian relief. The story of the town and its residents inspired Come From Away, the award-winning stage musical that premiered years later and has brought global attention to Gander’s actions. Officials say the play and continued interest have helped sustain a steady flow of visitors. Farwell said roughly 50,000 people visited Gander in the past three years specifically to see the production and learn the town’s story.
That attention coincided with longer-term growth. By 2021 Gander’s population had risen by more than 20 percent from its 2001 level, officials said. The town today is described by local leaders as less of an isolated outpost and more like a vibrant regional centre: it retains an international airport, hosts a 400-seat theatre that regularly stages Come From Away, supports a major hospital and a College of the North Atlantic campus that trains aircraft maintenance engineers, and has attracted mining investment after recent finds.
Residents and officials acknowledge the event’s psychological toll even as they recall the compassion shown. Moss and others said many who worked through the crisis experienced stress and sleepless nights and that it took time for the community to readjust once passengers departed. "When it was all over, we were looking at each other and said, ‘What happened? What just happened?’" Moss recalled. Mayor Farwell said the town continues to hold a sombre memorial each year, attended in person and by livestream, to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed on Sept. 11 and the many affected by the attacks.
The events of 2001 also marked a permanent shift in aviation and security. The unprecedented closure of U.S. airspace and the subsequent tightening of rules for civilian flights changed how cross-border and international air travel is regulated and managed.
Two decades on, Gander’s leaders frame the town’s legacy not as a point of pride in themselves but as an example of human solidarity in a moment of global crisis. "What happened here is being held up as an example to everyone of how human beings should interact with each other — with kindness and compassion," Farwell said. He added that the annual remembrances focus on those who lost their lives and on friendships forged "out of the ashes."