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Operation Yellow Ribbon

Operation Yellow Ribbon (French: Opération ruban jaune) was commenced by Canada to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001 in the United States. Canada's goal was to ensure that potentially destructive air traffic be removed from United States airspace as quickly as possible, and away from potential U.S. targets, and instead place these aircraft on the ground in Canada, at military and civilian airports primarily in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and British Columbia. Yukon, New Brunswick, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, and Quebec also took in aircraft so that any malicious or destructive potential threats could be better contained and neutralized. None of the aircraft proved to be a threat, and Canada hosted thousands of passengers who were stranded until U.S. airspace was reopened.

Location

Canada

Canada commenced the operation after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), implementing Security Control of Air Traffic and Air Navigation Aids (SCATANA), grounded all aircraft across the United States, an unprecedented action. The FAA then worked with Transport Canada to reroute incoming international flights to airports in Canada.[1]


During the operation, departing flights—with the exception of police, military, and humanitarian flights—were cancelled, marking the first time that Canadian airspace had been shut down. In total, as a result of Operation Yellow Ribbon, between 225 and 240 aircraft were diverted to 17 different airports across the country.

Aftermath[edit]

Totals[edit]

The actual number of diverted aircraft and passengers varies from each source. Transport Canada said over 33,000 passengers on 224 flights arrived in Canada, whereas Nav Canada gave a total of 239 flights. According to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, the number of flights was between 225 and 250 and the number of passengers was between 30,000 and 45,000.

In popular culture[edit]

Operation Yellow Ribbon has been the subject of several popularizations.


It was dramatized in the CBC miniseries Diverted and is the subject of the Broadway musical Come from Away, written by the Canadian writing team of Irene Sankoff and David Hein. The musical follows the stories of several passengers, Newfoundlanders, and flight crews in the days following 9/11.[27] The show ran on Broadway at the Schoenfeld Theatre from 2017 to October 2, 2022. It received seven nominations in the 2017 71st Tony Awards, including best musical.[28] It won a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Gander's part in Operation Yellow Ribbon is examined in the 2018 film You Are Here,[29] which won the Canadian Screen Award for best documentary.[30]


The efforts of Gander Centre and Gander Air Traffic control during Operation Yellow Ribbon were showcased on a Discovery Channel documentary entitled 9/11: CLEARED FOR CHAOS.[31]

The Day the World came to town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland. Harper Collins. 2003.  978-0-06-055971-7.

ISBN

"Mac Moss. Flown into the Arms of Angels: Newfoundland and Labrador's Unsung Heroes of 9/11

[1]

Transport Canada (2002). (PDF). Ottawa: Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada. ISBN 0-662-66832-4.

11–09–2001 Four Days in September

(Archived version at the Wayback Machine)

CNN Interview with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien the day after the attacks

11-09-2001 Four Days in September

2001: Air traffic halted after four planes hijacked in U.S.

Norad and September 11