Journalists told stranded passengers about September 11 attacks

Journalists from Morgunblaðið informed passengers at Leifsstöð airport about the September 11 attacks, mbl.is reports in a retrospective marking 25 years since the attacks.

On September 12, 2001, Morgunblaðið reported that thousands of people were feared dead after hijacked passenger planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense in Washington.

Nineteen terrorists linked to al-Qaeda had hijacked four aircraft in United States airspace, intending to crash them into major landmarks. About 3,000 people died in the attacks.

The newspaper’s front page showed firefighters working in the ruins of the World Trade Center’s twin towers and quoted US President George Bush as saying: “Freedom itself was attacked this morning, but I can assure you that freedom will be defended.” A 12-page supplement on the attacks was published with the newspaper, which continued extensive coverage in the following days and weeks.

All flights to the United States were suspended indefinitely. About 40 aircraft travelling westbound were in Icelandic airspace when the news arrived. Twenty continued to Canada, while 20 returned to Europe. Some aircraft stopped in Iceland to refuel.

The Icelandic air traffic control centre came under heavy pressure, and the number of staff on duty was increased from the usual six to nine people to 16.

When it became clear that air traffic to the United States would be halted, Morgunblaðið journalists went to Leifsstöð and spoke to several passengers who had been travelling to the country.

Most had no idea what had happened. The journalists, unusually, were mainly informing their interviewees about the news. The passengers reacted with disbelief, horror and fear.

Among those who learned about the attacks from the journalists was Usha Shanmugan, a New York resident who knew many people who worked at the World Trade Center and had friends and family in downtown New York. She burst into tears when a journalist told her about the attacks and unsuccessfully tried to contact relatives and friends in the United States.

“So the World Trade Center is just gone? Collapsed? So everyone in there…?” she said. A photograph of Shanmugan, in tears and holding a telephone receiver, was published with the report.