Seventeen flights were diverted to Winnipeg, carrying 1,500 travelers needing accommodation, information and comfort. With their whole community engaged, the people of Winnipeg came together to support those stranded on a day which forever changed the security, operation, and management of airports around the world.

Following the "Operation Yellow Ribbon" order to clear the North American airspace on September 11, 2001, Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport played a significant role as a diversion hub. A total of 15 international flights carrying approximately 2,200 passengers were diverted to Winnipeg. While Gander and Halifax received the bulk of the transatlantic traffic, Winnipeg was a primary destination for flights that were already deep into Canadian airspace or over the North Pole heading toward the central U.S. and Western Canada. The city of Winnipeg and its residents were praised for their "Midwestern hospitality," with many locals and businesses providing food, clothing, and temporary shelter for the "stranded" travelers for several days. Unlike the "Come From Away" story in Gander, Winnipeg's role was that of a large urban center absorbing a significant but manageable influx of people, using its existing infrastructure and the help of the Red Cross to ensure that the displaced passengers were well cared for until the skies reopened on September 14th.