Earlier this week, a small Canadian airport handled two diverted aircraft when adverse weather prevented them from reaching their planned destination. While weather-related diversions are very much part and parcel of modern aviation, and there are procedures in place to accommodate those affected by them, the small and remote nature of Gander International Airport (YQX) in Newfoundland and Labrador provided a new challenge.
Luckily enough, however, the town is more than used to handling diversions, and passengers on the impacted flights were able to rely on the goodwill of the local community in order to get help during their unplanned stopover in a town with just four hotels. There’s a chance this story may seem somewhat familiar…
Unexpected Hospitality
As reported by the New York Times, two flights diverted to Gander on Wednesday evening due to adverse weather. With the jets unable to depart until the next day, around 300 passengers and crew members were stranded in Gander for the night, but soon found that locals were more than willing to help them out. With insufficient taxis, a post on a local Facebook group prompted residents to drive to the airport and offer lifts to those in need.
Kristi Krinden was one of those who jumped into action upon hearing that stranded passengers required help, and described scenes of “elderly people all standing outside in the cold just waiting for a ride” and “people pouring out of the airport.” Jackie Freake, the Assistant Manager of the Quality Hotel and Suites, made the Facebook post that set Wednesday evening’s chain of events into motion, and she later went on to tell the New York Times that:
“Everybody started going to the airport. Locals from the community went up to the airport and brought them all down to the appropriate hotels.”
The Flights & Aircraft Involved
The two flights that diverted to Gander on Wednesday evening were Air Canada domestic services that were initially bound for St. John’s Airport (YYT), also located in Newfoundland and Labrador. These, according to historical tracking data made available by Flightradar24, had originated in Toronto (YYZ) and Montréal (YUL), and were operated by Airbus A220-300s. As seen below, AC690 from Toronto used C-GNBN, a retro-liveried A220.
Of course, with the hundreds of passengers and crew from these flights eventually fed and accommodated in Gander, the town’s residents faced a new challenge on Thursday: getting them back to the airport in order to continue their journeys. Thankfully, locals were just as willing to help this time, with Freake telling the New York Times that even more volunteer drivers came to help get the departing passengers on their way in good time.
C-GNBN, Air Canada’s retro-livered Airbus A220-300, was the first of the two diverted aircraft to leave Gander, taking to the skies at 1:18 pm on Thursday and touching down in St John’s an hour and 17 minutes later (after having to circle several times on approach). Just over an hour later, C-GUPG took off at 2:43 pm carrying passengers who had started their journeys in Montréal the day before, landing 36 minutes later at 3:19 pm.
The Story Of Operation Yellow Ribbon
Over 220 flights and 30,000 passengers were diverted to Canada in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.
Gander Has Done It All Before
Of course, you might be familiar with another story from Gander that concerns locals accommodating diverted passengers, namely Operation Yellow Ribbon. This took place on a much larger scale than this week’s antics, with the closure of US airspace following the 9/11 attacks in 2001 forcing 38 jets and more than 6,500 passengers to divert to Gander. This story has since been immortalized, as seen above, in the musical Come From Away.
Back then, the sheer volume of passengers far outstripped Gander’s hotel capacity, with those stranded in the Canadian town accommodated by locals and in school buildings for several days until US airspace reopened and they were able to continue on their way. In recognition of the town’s community spirit, Lufthansa later went on to name one of its aircraft after Gander, along with Halifax in Nova Scotia where planes also diverted.
