"Nashville International Airport Evacuated"

Friday, September 14, 2001

Nashville International Airport Evacuated


NASHVILLE, Tenn. - (AP) The Nashville International Airport was temporarily
evacuated Thursday after a private lear jet flew into the city's airspace
without authorization.

The Federal Aviation Administration directed the plane's pilot to land at
the airport, which he did, said airport spokeswoman Cathy Holland.

"There was an alert, and we evacuated the terminal. We are back in now," she
said.

Authorities were meeting the plane on the tarmac. No other details were
available.

The first commercial flight left Nashville Thursday morning after the FAA
lifted the ban on air traveling following the worst terrorist attack on U.S.
soil.

Terrorists hijacked four planes on Tuesday and crashed them into the twin
towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The fourth plane,
believed headed for the White House, crashed in
Pennsylvania.

Commercial air travel was suspended for two days. A Great Plains Airlines
plane took off late Thursday morning from Nashville and arrived safely in
Tulsa, Okla., Holland said.

She did not know if the plane carried passengers or if it was just
repositioning.

Although planes were taking to the air for the first time since the
terrorists attacks, officials said airport operations wouldn't return to
normal for sometime.

"It's going to be a real challenge to get the right people on the right
planes," said Larry Cox, president and chief executive of the Memphis-Shelby
County Airport. "It's going to be confusing
for a few days while the airlines catch up."

FedEx Corp. planes were expected to be the first to leave Memphis, where the
company is based. The world's largest cargo airline planned to carry cargo
on those flights.

The other major airline operating from Memphis, Northwest, was likely to
begin flying from its hub there about 6 p.m., Cox said. He wasn't sure what
the other airlines planned to do but suggested
Delta and Continental might wait until Friday to resume flights.

Cox said that even when flights begin running on a regular schedule,
passengers shouldn't expect things to be the same as before the terrorist
attacks.

"Get to the airport early once you know you have a definite flight -
two-three hours wouldn't be unheard of with the new security regulations for
airports and airlines," Cox said.

Stricter security at Tennessee airports will include no more curbside
check-ins; passengers parking at least 300 feet from terminals; and only
ticketed passengers allowed on concourses.

Passengers who were stuck at airports for two nights were ready to return
home Thursday but weren't complaining.

Julie Warner, who spent two nights sleeping on an air mattress under a
stairway at the Memphis airport, said she was just inconvenienced while so
many other Americans were dead.

"Being stuck here for two days is not that big a deal," shesaid.

Warner was on a flight from Atlanta to Orange County, Calif., that flight
was diverted to Memphis after the attacks. She was among about 8,000
travelers stranded in Memphis.

 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID8

*****************************************