(Los Angeles, CA) Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will recognize the somber 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks with commemorations, a public moment of silence and the refurbishment of a public memorial to those who lost their lives.
“While New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia bore the brunt of this horrific day two decades ago, Los Angeles was also deeply impacted by the loss of the passengers and crew on the three planes that were originally heading to LAX that morning,” said Justin Erbacci, Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). “We honor all of those who lost their lives and extend our thoughts to their families. The events of that day have shaped the evolution of aviation for 20 years, and we have never forgotten the victims or the lessons learned as we forged even stronger partnerships with law enforcement and the federal government to create the safest airports possible.”
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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will briefly stop screening at all LAX terminal screening areas at 5:46 a.m. PDT on Saturday, which is the time that American Airlines Flight 11, which was heading to LAX from Boston Logan International Airport, crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York. All guests at the screening areas will be asked to stop and observe a moment of silence.
Two other flights that were headed to LAX, United Airlines Flight 175, which had departed from Boston, and American Airlines Flight 77, which was flying from Washington Dulles International Airport, were also part of the attack. The United Airlines flight struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center at 6:03 a.m. PDT and the American Airlines flight crashed into the west side of the Pentagon at 6:37 a.m. PDT. The fourth plane that was hijacked, United Flight 93, was heading from Newark Liberty International Airport to San Francisco, but crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pa., at 7:03 a.m. PDT.
At 8:43 a.m. PDT on Saturday, a color guard ceremony and additional moment of silence will be held inside the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Federal Inspection Station at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. Attendance at that ceremony will be limited to international passengers as it is in federally controlled space in the sterile area of the airport. Photos will be available on LAX social media following the event.
Public Memorials
Additionally, the lives lost on Sept. 11 are memorialized in two locations at LAX. At the flag courtyard, just east of the Clifton A. Moore Administration Building, there is a memorial to the passengers and crew who died aboard the four flights that morning. The memorial is available to the public.
"Recovering Equilibrium" is a memorial installation created at the base of the Theme Building by artists BJ Krivanek and Joel Breaux. The memorial to victims of 9/11 was commissioned by LAWA in partnership with the Department of Cultural Affairs in 2002 and was installed in 2003.
This week, staff from LAWA Maintenance and the LAX Art Program cleaned and refurbished the memorial, which is constructed from a 15-foot reflective stainless steel dish and symbolizes the feelings of loss and need for public dialogue about the attacks.
Text cut into the outer edge references core American rights and ideals. Inscribed on the mirrored dish are the personal traits of the victims. The public is invited to visit the memorial, located inside the courtyard of the iconic Theme Building at LAX, 201 World Way. Parking is available in nearby garages for $5 for the first hour.
In observance of 9/11, the LAX pylons will glow in red, white and blue tonight through Sunday morning.
