The small town of Gander on the island of Newfoundland, Canada, provided a safe haven for 38 planes carrying over 7,000 passengers that were grounded due to the September 11 attacks in 2001. With no contingency plan in place, Mayor Claude Elliott declared a state of emergency and locals rallied together to provide food, shelter, and other necessities. The town's generosity inspired the musical "Come From Away," which premiered on Broadway in 2017 and won a Tony Award. Former Mayor Elliott has seen the show 139 times, including its recent production in Gander.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Located on the island of Newfoundland, Gander is home to around 12,000 residents.
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Gander → locate → residents
Even fewer people lived here on September 11, 2001, when Gander's far northeast positioning made it an ideal landing spot for grounded flights.
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it → live → flights
"Once you leave Europe in the morning, once you get halfways across, the nearest airport is Gander," said Claude Elliott, who was mayor of Gander on 9/11.
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who → leave → 9/11
By the end of that day, 38 planes had landed at Gander's airport, something for which there was no contingency plan.
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planes → land → which
"None," Elliott said.
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Elliott → say → None
"We have an emergency plan, every municipality has it.
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municipality → have → it
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."
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they → be → days
Once it was clear that the planes wouldn't be taking off anytime soon, Gander had to scramble to figure out what to do with its influx of temporary visitors from all around the world.
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Gander → take → world
Elliott declared a state of emergency.
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Elliott → declare → emergency
Calls went out for supplies.
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Calls → go → supplies
Churches and schools became shelters.
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Churches → become → ?
Even the local hockey rink was put to use.
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rink → put → use
"We got truckloads of food and we put it all in the community center on the ice surface, and we used it as a refrigerator to keep the food cool," Elliott said.
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Elliott → get → food
Locals referred to the new arrivals as the "plane people."
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Locals → refer → people
Offers to help poured in.
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Offers → help → ?
Elliott said, "The greatest asset that your community has is its people.
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community → say → that
And we had our people.
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we → have → people
Everybody came out."
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Everybody → come → ?
She told us, "I said, 'Thank God they're coming here, 'cause I know they will be looked after."
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they → tell → God
Cooper volunteers at the Royal Canadian Legion in Gander, which housed 67 people from an Aer Lingus flight.
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which → volunteer → flight
She brought sandwiches, shuttled stranded passengers to pay phones around town, and even invited some to sleep and shower at her home.
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She → bring → home
Cooper said it was helpful to her to be helpful: "Oh, my gosh, it does so good in here [tapping her chest] to know that you're doing something to help somebody.
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you → say → somebody
Cooper is one of the people who provided the inspiration for characters in the musical "Come From Away," which premiered on Broadway in 2017.
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which → provide → 2017
It tells the story of how Gander rallied together to help – which former Mayor Elliott didn't initially think was going to make for much for a story.
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Elliott → tell → story
"I had to confess I had never seen a musical," he said.
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he → have → musical
"But in my mind I'm trying to visualize, how are you gonna make a musical out of sandwiches, soup, blankets, boxes, pillows?"
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you → try → sandwiches
But the seemingly small story resonated in a big way.
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story → resonate → way
"Come From Away" won a Tony Award, toured around the world, and has created at least one new musical theater buff: Mayor Elliott, who says he has seen the show 139 times: "I've seen it in six countries: Canada, United States, Australia, London, Madrid, Spain, and New Zealand."
And, most recently, right here in Gander.
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I → win → Gander
"Come From Away" has come home, with a professional production staged during the summer months at the local arts center.
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Come → come → center
Actor Peter Halley, born just a few hours away, in St. John's, plays Mayor Claude in the Gander production.
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Halley → bear → production
"It's the only cast where Newfoundland characters are played by Newfoundlanders," he said.
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he → play → Newfoundlanders
"So, that authenticity of the show is really there, and felt here."
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authenticity → feel → show
The play's title, "Come From Away," is a reference to people who visit Newfoundland.
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who → come → Newfoundland
"You're just coming to see us and to experience the province, and you are from away," said Halley.
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Halley → come → province
"And you've come from away.
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you → come → ?
So, 'CFA' is just an expression that I think I've known forever."
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I → think → that
And now, thanks to the show's global popularity, Gander sees a lot more CFAs.
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Gander → see → CFAs
The aviation museum has an exhibit that highlights those days after 9/11, featuring thank-you notes written by grateful passengers.
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that → have → passengers
Metal beams from the Twin Towers were sent to Gander.
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beams → send → Gander
The Legion regularly hosts "screech-ins" for tourists, a tradition portrayed in the musical, in which visitors can become honorary Newfoundlanders by taking a shot of strong rum and kissing a cod fish.
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visitors → host → fish
…and 14 more, not listed.
