Twenty-five years after 38 planes carrying thousands of strangers descended on a small Newfoundland town, Gander is preparing to mark the anniversary of the day its people became the world's most famous hosts. The commemorative service will take place September 11, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the Steele Community Centre, with an "Untold Stories" gathering the night before at Gander International Airport featuring first-hand accounts from the "plane people" and the residents who took them in. For those traveling to Gander for the occasion, the award-winning musical Come From Away — the show that turned the town's story into a global phenomenon — will have performances around the anniversary at the Joseph R. Smallwood Arts and Culture Centre.
The story began on a clear September morning in 2001, when the United States closed its airspace after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Under what became known as Operation Yellow Ribbon, between 225 and 240 civilian aircraft were diverted to 17 Canadian airports. Gander, with its position as the nearest major airport for transatlantic flights, took in 38 of them — carrying roughly 6,600 passengers and crew, more than half the town's population at the time.
Claude Elliott, Gander's mayor at the time, later recalled that there was no contingency plan for such an arrival. "We have an emergency plan, every municipality has it," he told CBS News. "But there's nothing in that plan to tell you what to do with 7,000 people if they decide to drop in for four or five days." Elliott declared a state of emergency. Churches and schools became shelters. The local hockey rink was pressed into service as a giant refrigerator, its ice surface stacked with truckloads of food.
The residents of Gander and the surrounding communities opened their homes, their kitchens, and their hearts to the stranded travelers, who came to be known as the "plane people." Beulah Cooper, a volunteer at the Royal Canadian Legion who helped house 67 people from an Aer Lingus flight, brought sandwiches, shuttled passengers to pay phones, and invited some to sleep and shower at her home. "I said, 'Thank God they're coming here, 'cause I know they will be looked after,'" she remembered.
The story of Gander's kindness became the subject of the Tony Award-winning musical Come From Away, which premiered on Broadway in 2017. The show has since been staged around the world, and it has come home to Gander itself, with a professional production at the local arts center. This year's season was extended to include performances around the anniversary dates.
The North Atlantic Aviation Museum has an exhibit that highlights those days after 9/11, featuring thank-you notes written by grateful passengers.
The 25th anniversary has not been without controversy. The planned visit of the U.S. Ambassador to Canada for the commemoration angered many locals, prompting the town to issue a statement in response.
Mayor Percy Farwell has asked that the focus remain on the thousands of lives lost and the humanity that brought people together. "This is not a celebration, but a time to remember," he said in the town's official announcement.
The town is asking those interested in attending to register in advance, with capacity at the Steele Community Centre limited. For a community that once hosted the world on a few hours' notice, it is a familiar kind of preparation — and a reminder of what happened when a small town in Newfoundland became, for five extraordinary days, the heart of the world's compassion.