Airline boss felt 'total numbness' after 9/11

An airline boss has told of the shock he felt in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and how the aviation industry responded with more stringent safety measures.

Aurigny's chief commercial officer Philip Saunders was working for British Airways when the World Trade Center was hit by passenger jets 25 years ago on 11 September 2001.

Saunders said he was abruptly called out of a work conference and saw news footage showing one of the Twin Towers on fire.

He said he felt "total numbness" before realising "the huge issues" his airline would need to address in the wake of the attacks.

The airline boss said he needed to think about "every possible aspect about how you could make flying safe enough to be able to start again" after flights were grounded.

He said all metal knives and forks had to be removed from aircraft along with glassware.

"As far as I remember, initially we just stopped offering catering on any flights at all," he said.

"You couldn't imagine two planes being crashed into two of the tallest skyscrapers, which were symbolic of the greatest power on Earth.

"That was beyond one's imagination."

A third plane was was flown into the Pentagon in Virginia and a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers revolted against hijackers. Almost 3,000 people died.

Saunders said aviation has "got a lot safer since" but "if you work in an airline in a senior position" you are "always conscious of your own personal responsibility".

"I'm very proud to work in this industry and I think it delivers a lot," he said.

"Of course we always need to… remember those brave people who died on a terrible day in aviation history, honour their memory and move forward to build a stronger industry which is always safer."

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