📍 Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador
On September 11, 2001, when American airspace closed without warning, 38 planes carrying 6,700 passengers were diverted to Gander International Airport — a town of 10,000 people on the northeast coast of Newfoundland.
The town had no plan for this. There was no manual. Schools were turned into shelters. Locals drove to the airport with blankets, food, and spare keys to their homes. The pharmacist opened the pharmacy for passengers who needed medication. The bus drivers, who were on strike at the time, voted unanimously to go back to work to help move people from the airport. Passengers were housed, fed, and looked after for days by people who had never met them and expected nothing in return.
Some of those passengers came back. Some never really left. Friendships formed during those few days have lasted more than two decades. The story became the Broadway musical Come From Away, which opened in 2017 and played to audiences around the world.
Gander itself was built for aviation. Chosen in 1935 for its position on the great circle route between New York and London, it served as a critical refuelling stop during the Second World War and the early years of transatlantic flight. Most of the streets are named after famous aviators. The North Atlantic Aviation Museum tells that story.
But after September 11, the town became known for something else entirely — the kind of quiet, instinctive generosity that small communities do better than anywhere.
Photo: 103rd Rescue Unit (Canadian Forces), Fair use
→ Visit Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador
