"I actually landed in Heraklion just as it was coming on the news," Nancy remembers. "I was walking off the plane all jet lagged and my boss Rick meeting me and going "what's going on over there?!?" I of course had no clue." Eventually, they left the airport with a couple of clients and went on to Matala on the south coast of Crete, where the attraction for once wasn't the picturesque caves and blue green waters, but the big screen television set. "It was quite surreal watching CNN in the bar at Zafiria (Hotel), feeling I was in about the most peaceful spot in the world as chaos was going on back here." Many Americans were arriving in Greece that afternoon at the end of long-haul flights from the United States. Depending on the airline, some of them were informed of the remarkable events unfolding back home, while others, like Nancy, discovered it when they found clusters of travelers gazing at TV monitors in airport lounges. Some parties found their travel groups split into those who had made it onto their planes in time, and those who were grounded when all air traffic in the United States came to an unprecedented standstill. Many passengers returning from Greece found themselves suddenly on an unexpected stop in Canada, where many international flights were re-routed.
Travelers faced the choice of continuing on with a vacation trying to pretend nothing had happened, or attempting to cut trips short and rush back home. But with the halt in air traffic to the United States, most of them ended up staying in Greece for the duration of their planned trips. Greeks rushed to comfort and assist the travelers, who, like Odysseus, mostly only wanted to be able to return home. "I do remember feeling much safer there than I probably would have in Chicago,"Nancy recalls. "Everyone we dealt with throughout our trips that year was totally supportive of us and the US."
Some travelers were soon confronted with a very mundane reality - attempting to make claims on their travel insurance, many of them were startled by fine print saying that acts of war or acts of God were not covered. While some travel insurance companies covered travelers immediately, others debated whether they were obliged to at all under their terms of coverage.
And as information developed over the next few hours and days, many Greeks found themselves in mourning - 39 of the 9/11 victims were Greeks or Greek-Americans, many of them with extended families in Greece and the Greek islands. Many others knew or had worked with victims of the attacks.
The Greeks Remember
I was not in Greece on 9/11, but I was there on the five-year anniversary in 2006. It was on my mind while I browsed in the street market in downtown Heraklion just after arriving back in Greece. Before leaving the States, many people had cautioned me not to travel anytime around the anniversary date, and I was relieved to be back in Greece without incident. Maybe some of this was playing across my face as I browsed through a spice store and asked a couple of questions. A young Greek woman, daughter of the proprietor, came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "You are American, yes? I know this day must be a hard one for you. I am so sorry for what happened." Her kind words brought tears to my eyes, and I've never forgotten that moment.About Greece Travel 9/11 Archive Articles:
Greece Decries Attack on U.S.
The Attack: What's the Effect on Greek Travel?
Official Embassy Message
