*Posts more facts while definitely not twitching slightly*
This year in aviation history, we faced the September 11th attacks. In response to the US airspace being closed, Canada follows suit and orders Operation Yellow Ribbon, grounding all non-emergency aircraft and funneling all currently airborne aircraft (approximately 225) to 17 airports. Among the airports chosen is Gander International Airport - a relatively small field serving the city of Gander, NL, well past its glory days as a transatlantic fuelling stop. With Yellow Ribbon in effect, 38 widebody airliners inundated the small town, leaving over 6,600 passengers and crew (who outnumbered townsfolk) stuck in this little patch of Canada with no certainty as to when they would be on their way. Without hesitation, most of the community opened their doors to whoever they could, providing food and shelter when hotels and other accommodations were overwhelmed. Many tales have come from Gander in the days that followed, all praising the community's selflessness and hospitality in the face of adversity. These events would later be dramatized in the musical
Come From Away, and Lufthansa would name one of their A340s (tail number D-AIFC) to
Gander/Halifax as a show of appreciation, making it the only Lufthansa aircraft ever to be named after a non-German city.
