The report entitled "ATC System Response to Events of September 11, 2001," which is posted on the Internet site of the William J. Hughes Technical Center of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), indicates that the FAA closed all New York airports at 9:17 a.m. on 11 September 2001 and all United States airspace at 9:40 a.m. that same day (10 Oct. 2001). The resumption of air traffic, according to the report, was as follows:

September 12

- Diverted flights completed.

- Repositioning flights allowed.

September 13

- Airspace re-opened to commercial traffic (11:00 a.m.).

September 14

- General Aviation IFR Operations approved.

- Parcel deliveries resume (UPS, FedEx).

September 15

- Airspace re-opened to foreign aircraft.

September 16

- Mail, parcels, other cargo allowed on commercial flights (FAA 10 Oct. 2001).

In January 2002, the Washington Times reported that major commercial airports in the US had re-opened 24 hours after the September 11 attacks, except for the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (14 Jan. 2002), which re-opened on 4 October 2001 (Cornell HRA Quarterly 1 Oct. 2001; Gold Coast Bulletin 13 Oct. 2001).

The Washington Times also indicated that three suburban Maryland airports, namely Freeway Airport in Bowie, Maryland Airport in Indian Head and Suburban Airport in Laurel, re-opened in December 2001, while Washington Executive, Hyde Field Airport in Clinton, Potomac Airfield in Friendly and College Park Airport remained closed as of January 2002 (14 Jan. 2002). Because of a federal ban on private planes flying within 15 miles of the Washington Monument, these airports were "the only [airports] in the country still closed in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks" (Washington Times 14 Jan. 2002). According to information provided by a spokesman of the FAA to the Research Directorate in a telephone interview, this ban continues to be in effect today (FAA 8 Sept. 2003).

The spokesman for the FAA also said that on 13 September 2001, US airspace was re-opened to American airlines only, provided that at the departure airport, whether in the US or abroad, the airlines had put specified security measures in place (ibid.). Foreign airlines could not yet come into US airspace, but they could leave provided that security measures were in effect at the departure airport (ibid.).

The spokesman indicated that,

At 9 a.m. on September 14, 2001, the FAA re-certified 421 of the 451 airports in the U.S. with scheduled airline service as meeting the new post-9/11 security standards. The two notable exceptions were Boston Logan and Washington National [Ronald Regan National Airport]. The former reopened [on] September 15 [2001]; the latter [did] not [reopen] until late October.

... the fact that most airports were open did not mean that airline service was back ... to normal (FAA 9 Sept. 2003).

The spokesman added that depending on the airline and where it was coming from, regular international flights resumed anywhere between 14 September 2001 and the "days thereafter" (ibid. 8 Sept. 2003).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly [Ithaca, NY]. 1 October 2002. Vol. 43, No. 5. Greg Stafford, Larry Yu and Alex Kobina Armco. "Crisis Management and Recovery: How Washington, D.C., Hotels Responded to Terrorism." (Dialog)

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in Washington, D.C. 9 September 2003. Correspondence from a spokesman.

_____. 8 September 2003. Telephone interview with a spokesman.

_____. 10 October 2001. William J. Hughes Technical Center. Jonathan Histon and R. John Hansman. "ATC System Response to Events of September 11, 2001." Presentation at the FAA/NASA Joint University Program for Air Transportation Research quarterly review meeting, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 10 October 2001. http://acy.tc.faa.gov/jup/jupq_101001/mit/histon/presentation.pdf [Accessed 8 Sept. 2003]

Gold Coast Bulletin [Australia]. 13 October 2001. "30 Days of History." (Dialog)

Washington Times. 14 January 2002. Mary Shaffrey. "With Wings Clipped, PG Airports in a Tailspin Federal No-Fly Zone Devastates 3 Still Shuttered After September 11." (Dialog)