Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001 | 10:08 a.m.
An eerie, uneasy quiet settled over McCarran International Airport Tuesday as federal officials grounded all U.S. flights in the wake of the horrific terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.
"The pilot said there was a problem, and all the aircraft were told to go to the closest airport," said Cathy Flatt, a Salt Lake City resident whose flight to Phoenix was diverted to Las Vegas Tuesday.
"He said some planes were hijacked. I didn't know how bad it really was until now."
Commercial jets lined up on McCarran's tarmac like abandoned toys. The short-term parking garage was virtually empty. There was no wait for the elevator. No one was checking parking meters. The stores were closed. The baggage carousel was still.
Even the slot machines were quiet.
"It has never happened. I've never done this before," said an airport slots manager who unplugged the machines. "But the airport security came through and said they could tell everybody to leave at a moment's notice."
Jalene Stewart, a slot machine change person, says she was told to arrive early for her 2 p.m. shift Tuesday. She arrived by 11:30 a.m. and said the airport resembled a ghost town.
"Everything looked kind of dead. I've never seen the airport like that," Stewart said. "You didn't see all the cars, the people or the hustle and bustle.
"None of the trams or buses were working, so we didn't know what to do."
Air traffic across the nation was shut down until at least noon today after hijacked commercial airliners plunged into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center's twin 1,350-foot towers in New York. A fourth hijacked jet crashed about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
Airline officials reported 266 people were aboard the planes used in the terrorist attacks. The death toll of those killed inside the buildings and on the ground continues to rise.
Federal Aviation Administration officials called for immediate suspension of all U.S. flights, forcing commercial airliners to land at the nearest airport and leaving thousands of passengers stranded in strange towns but happy to be alive.
Flatt read a book while waiting to see how she would get to Phoenix, where she was supposed to stay with her three grandchildren while her daughter underwent surgery.
"It was hard for me not getting there to help her. But those families have a lot more to deal with than I do," Flatt said.
Bill Athan, a California resident whose American Airlines flight was to take him from Denver to Los Angeles, said a friend from Palm Springs was driving up to get him. All the rental car companies were out of cars.
"Our pilot said we were being diverted due to a national emergency. I've heard them say we're being diverted for weather, but never anything like this," Athan said. "They didn't officially announce they were evacuating the airport or anything. But every time I walk through there are less people."
The few passengers still inside McCarran late Tuesday afternoon bought newspapers or paperbacks at the one book store that remained open, grabbed a cup of coffee from the one Starbucks kiosk that stayed open or curled up on the floor and slept, using luggage for pillows.
Still others congregated with Metro officers and airport employees outside the Las Vegas Autoraceway restaurant and bar. The place was closed, but the television was on.
People watched news reports through the windows. Some pressed their ears tightly against the cracks between window joints and strained to hear the latest news.
They watched in horror as the images turned to footage of Palestinians cheering and celebrating in the streets.
"Look at that," someone murmured. "There's little kids out there cheering."
"They only do what their parents tell them," another person said.
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