Aurigny Executive Recalls 9/11 Shock as Aviation Tightened Safety After Nearly 3,000 Deaths
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Sep 11
Aurigny Executive Recalls 9/11 Shock as Aviation Tightened Safety After Nearly 3,000 Deaths
1 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 11
Summary
Philip Saunders, now Aurigny’s chief commercial officer, said he felt “total numbness” when he was pulled from a British Airways conference and saw the Twin Towers burning on Sept. 11, 2001.
After the attacks grounded flights, he said airlines had to rethink “every possible aspect” of restarting safely, stripping metal cutlery and glassware from cabins and initially halting catering altogether.
The hijackings killed almost 3,000 people after two planes hit New York’s World Trade Center, a third struck the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania when passengers fought back.
Saunders said aviation has become much safer since 9/11, but senior airline leaders still carry a constant sense of responsibility as the industry marks 25 years since the attacks.