Operation Yellow Ribbon

Operation Yellow Ribbon (Opération ruban jaune) was commenced by Canada to handle the diversion of civilian airline flights in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001 on 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 in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia (and also several in New Brunswick, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec) where any destructive potential could be better contained and neutralized. None of the aircraft proved to be a threat, and Canada and Canadians hosted thousands of passengers stranded in Canada until U.S. airspace was reopened.

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.

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, 255 aircraft were diverted to 17 different airports across the country.

Atlantic flights
The operation was a challenge for airports in Atlantic Canada. Transport Canada asked NAV CANADA to instruct flights coming from Europe to avoid Macdonald-Cartier International Airport in Ottawa, Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto and Dorval International Airport in Montreal as a security measure, since they are among the major&mdash;and therefore busiest&mdash;airports in Central Canada and Ottawa is the national capital. The majority of incoming flights from Europe were received by Atlantic airports, though some diverted flights did land at Dorval and Pearson.

Gander International Airport, which was the first North American airport on the transatlantic route, took in 38 wide-body aircraft, mostly heading for U.S. destinations. The number of passengers and crew accommodated at Gander was about 6,600. The population of Gander at the time was fewer than 10,000 people. Jean Chrétien, then-Canadian Prime Minister, stated that there were more people at the airport than in the town.

Halifax International Airport handled 40 flights in a similar manner. St. John's International Airport, Greater Moncton International Airport, CFB Goose Bay and Stephenville International Airport handled the remainder of the transatlantic flights.

Pacific flights
Most flights coming from Asia to destinations on the West Coast of the United States and points beyond had no other choice but to land at Vancouver International Airport, as it was the only major Canadian airport on the West Coast capable of handling the large aircraft used for transpacific flights. Thirty-four flights, carrying 8,500 passengers ended their journeys in Vancouver.