As the most easterly existing land-based airport in North America at the time, Gander was an ideal refueling point for Allied aircraft traveling to and from Europe; it could also provide the greatest range for surveillance flights patrolling the western Atlantic.

Gander International Airport (YQX) in Newfoundland, Canada, was built on such a massive scale because it was the "Crossroads of the World" during the early era of transatlantic flight. Before the invention of long-range jet engines in the 1960s, planes flying between New York and London simply did not have the fuel capacity to cross the Atlantic in one hop; Gander was the closest landmass to Europe and served as the essential refueling stop for every major airline. During World War II, it was the largest airport in the world and served as a critical jumping-off point for the "Atlantic Ferry" of military aircraft. In 2026, it is perhaps most famous for its role during 9/11, when 38 commercial flights were diverted there after U.S. airspace closed, a story immortalized in the musical Come From Away. A grounded historical fact: Gander's runway (nearly 10,000 feet) and its stunning mid-century modern terminal were designed to handle the "Golden Age" of aviation when thousands of passengers—including celebrities and world leaders—had to wait for several hours while their planes "topped up" their fuel tanks for the long ocean crossing.