BACKGROUNDER

Transport Canada’s Immediate Response to the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on the United States: A Detailed Chronology of the First Four Days

September 11, 2001

(EST, all times approximate)

8:45: American Airlines Flight 11 strikes the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York. The plane is carrying 81 passengers and 11 crew members.

North American Conference and Exhibition in Montreal. Airport CEOs and managers from around the world are present.

With all signs now pointing to an act of terrorism, Transport Canada officials realize that there are bound to be important implications for Canada and the department will be expected to play a lead role in any response.

9:21: Transport Canada activates its Situation Centre (SitCen) in Ottawa. 

The SitCen instantly becomes a nerve centre and focal point for all decisions and actions taken by Transport Canada and its partners as they respond to the crisis. The state-of-the-art facility was designed to provide an emergency response to a potential massive earthquake on the west coast. Since opening in 1994, it has been activated a number of times, including during the ice storm in Ontario and Quebec and the Swissair disaster near Peggy’s Cove.

The SitCen quickly fills up with key Transport Canada personnel. In addition, several other critical organizations assign staff to the SitCen to lend support. These include NAV CANADA, National Defence, RCMP, CSIS, Citizenship and Immigration and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

The SitCen establishes contact with other key members of the Canadian aviation community, including the Air Transport Association of Canada and local airport authorities. It also establishes links with American regulators - notably, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) - and international civil aviation authorities.

Across Canada, regional Transport Canada SitCens activate their emergency response measures.

The FAA order poses enormous logistical implications for Canadian decision makers. Approximately 500 trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific flights are in the air bound for destinations that are now closed to them. They enter Canadian airspace at a rate of one to two planes every minute. Transport Canada must swiftly decide what to do with these planes.

Transport Canada also begins work on the formal order to halt all departures.

Transport Canada instructs NAV CANADA to order all flights with enough fuel to head back to Europe. Two-hundred and seventy planes turn around in mid-air. The remainder are diverted to airports across Canada. The first planes land at Goose Bay. Others follow at 16 other airports from coast to coast. Transport Canada establishes and maintains continuous contact with every affected Canadian airport and reports back regularly to Minister Collenette and the Deputy Minister, Margaret Bloodworth.

In the ensuing hours, 224 passenger flights carrying more than 33,000 passengers as well as 10 cargo flights are stacked up on airport runways from one end of the country to another. This marks the beginning of Transport Canada’s “Operation Yellow Ribbon”.

No Canadian government had ever had to take such drastic action - the shutdown of the country’s entire airspace. Transport Canada maintains close contact with U.S. and international authorities. Extra police are deployed to Canada’s busiest airports.

Minister Collenette issues another order instructing all Canadian domestic flights to remain clear of American airspace.

10:24: Less than one hour after the third crash, United Airlines Flight 93 slams into a farm field in southern Pennsylvania. It is en route from Newark, New Jersey to San Francisco with 38 passengers and 7 crew members.

11:00: Minister Collenette releases a statement publicly announcing that all air movements from Canadian airports are grounded until further notice, except for military, police and humanitarian flights. 

11:45: Minister Collenette arrives at Transport Canada headquarters in Ottawa from Montreal.

From the afternoon of September 11 and into the early hours of September 12, thousands of passengers aboard the diverted flights are screened again, cargo is taken off all aircraft and re-searched. Additional Customs and Immigration employees are brought in to clear all passengers at airports across the country.

The security of the aviation sector is not the only concern of the Government of Canada, as all transportation infrastructure in both Canada and the U.S. needs to be protected. In addition to the air passengers and crew, there are 1,211 ferry passengers, 675 rail passengers, and 330 bus passengers that are screened at Canada/U.S. border crossings on September 11^th and 12^th.

The Minister expresses regret over the tragedy and assures Secretary Mineta of the continued support of the Government of Canada.

Contact is maintained between Transport Canada, the FAA, and other international authorities. 

   Total:                          224

September 12, 2001

The grounded aircraft and their passengers present a significant logistical challenge for emergency personnel, NAV CANADA, airports, and the communities that have taken in these unexpected guests.

The stranded passengers need the basics - lodging, food, and transportation. In addition, there are unforeseen challenges. For example, humanitarian flights have to be authorized on a case-by-case basis, including one carrying Canadian children to the U.S. for cancer treatment.

Transport Canada officials begin the arduous task of drafting and revising hundreds of security requirements in the early hours of September 12th so that aircraft could safely return to the skies.

The Transport Canada Internet site, with links to news releases, FAQs, and diverted flight information, receives over 47,000 visits on this day alone.

• increased police presence at major airports;
• increased passenger screening; and
• enhanced security procedures, including more hand searches of baggage.

Departmental officials notify airports and air carriers about the new safeguards.

With tighter security procedures in place, all Canadian domestic flights that had been diverted are cleared to take off from airports where they were grounded. This occurs prior to opening Canadian airspace to regularly scheduled Canadian passenger flights. U.S. airspace remains closed.

Flight restrictions in Canada are gradually eased.

Despite the easing of air traffic restrictions, the Transport Minister urges Canadian travellers to show patience and to expect delays at major Canadian airports due to heightened security measures.

September 13, 2001

8:00: U.S. authorities advise that the nation-wide closure of U.S. airspace is to be lifted at 11:00 a.m.

September 14, 2001

Lifting restrictions on domestic cargo and mail allows the Canadian business community to fully resume its operations.

19:00: Minister Collenette revises security restrictions on cargo and mail.

Cargo and mail are allowed aboard passenger flights to the U.S.

This announcement by Minister Collenette allows the remaining aircraft to depart for U.S. destinations. This marks the complete end of flight restrictions imposed over Canadian airspace on September 11, 2001.

In the two weeks following September 11, Transport Canada processes 10 sets of new security regulations at a rate of about six hours per regulation.

Throughout the crisis, the SitCen finds itself inundated by an avalanche of phone calls. At its peak, the facility fielded an estimated 5,000 calls a day. The calls come from airports, air carriers, the media and the general public. There is also constant contact between the SitCen and other federal departments and agencies, provincial governments and U.S. aviation authorities.