The people of Gander are once again living up to their well-earned reputation for hospitality after a group of travelers became stranded at the airport last night.
The town became famous in the days and months following the terrorist attacks on 9-11 when residents opened their doors and hearts to thousands of stranded airline passengers.
An international flight crew forced to divert to Gander International (Town of Gander)
The story has been told repeatedly over the years through the award-winning Broadway production of Come From Away.
An Air Canada flight from Montreal to St. John’s had to divert to the airport town last night because of freezing rain in the capital city region.
The passengers were stranded on the tarmac for some time before realizing they’d have to spend the night in Gander, but there were only a limited number of taxis running at the time.
That’s when the assistant manager of the Quality Hotel and Suites, Jackie Freake, jumped into action. She made a post to the Gander Connect Facebook group and within minutes ordinary citizens started showing up to shuttle hundreds of weary passengers to the hotel.
But it doesn’t end there.
“They all had to get back to the airport today,” says Freake, “so I came into work early this morning, and there’s a lineup outside the hotel, so I put another post on Facebook, and I just say ‘there’s a lineup outside the hotel,’ and to be honest, I’m here with three people standing in front of me now, volunteers that are waiting for the passengers to come out of their hotel rooms to take them to the airport.”
Monet of St. John’s is one of the passengers who was stranded last night. She says she was amazed by the kindness and generosity shown by so many ordinary people.
“Locals were coming in their cars and in the taxis that weren’t being used to come and shuttle us to the hotel. There’s probably about 150-200 of us, maybe even more, and you know, it was like experiencing Come From Away all over again. It’s nice to know that the heart of the community is the same.”
