Home · On This Day · Sept. 11, 2001
Air traffic halted on Sept. 11, 2001
Broadcast Date: Sept. 11, 2001
Four passenger planes have been hijacked — two have flown into New York City's World Trade Center, another has crashed into the Pentagon, and a fourth airliner has gone down in a field near Pittsburgh. The American Federal Aviation Administration is diverting all international flights bound for the United States, rerouting approximately 200 planes to Canada. All other air travel has been halted.From coast to coast, security is heightened in Canada's flooded airports. Travelers sit around television sets in airport lounges, watching the unbelievable coverage unfold. CBC News has this report on the thousands of international travelers who are stranded in Canadian airports, waiting and hoping to find a safe passage home.
Air traffic halted on Sept. 11, 2001
• Following September 11, 2001, Canada stepped up its air security measures, spending $55.7 million on advanced explosive-detection systems, $9 million to hire new customs and security inspectors, and $3 million for extra training of airline and airport security workers.• "We will direct every resource at our command, every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence and every necessary weapon of war, to the disruption and defeat of the global terror network." — President George W. Bush in a televised joint session of Congress.
• "We really came to say thank you, we came on behalf of the president of the United States and the people of the United States to say thank you to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador for those extraordinary acts of human kindness and compassion that will never be forgotten." — U.S. Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci.
Air traffic halted on Sept. 11, 2001
Medium: Television
Program: CBC Television News Special
Broadcast Date: Sept. 11, 2001
Guest(s): Tom Day
Host: Peter Mansbridge
Reporter: Susan Ormiston
Duration: 2:36
Last updated:
May 2, 2011










Air traffic halted on Sept. 11, 2001.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: May 2, 2011.
[Page consulted on Feb. 12, 2012.]