JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s been 25 years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and travelers and Transportation Security Administration officers paused to remember the lives lost and the changes that followed.
At 8:46 Friday morning, the time the first plane struck the World Trade Center, the security checkpoint at Jacksonville International Airport briefly closed for a moment of silence. TSA officers stood together before the agency’s Honor Guard gave a presentation.
For travelers moving through the normally busy airport, the ceremony offered a moment to reflect.
Malory Blanton completed the 9/11 Challenge Stair Climb last year. During the symbolic event, participants climb 110 flights of stairs to honor the first responders who climbed the towers of the World Trade Center.
“You always have such a profound appreciation for the firefighters, but I could not imagine going up all of the stairs and the smoke and the heat and the hopelessness, knowing you’re never coming down,” Blanton said.
The attacks also transformed air travel across the country. Before 9/11, travelers could move through airport security without having their identification or boarding passes checked. Laptops remained inside bags, there were no restrictions on liquids, and passengers could carry knives shorter than four inches onto planes.
Today, identification checks, security screenings, and restrictions on what passengers can carry have become a routine part of flying.
Christopher Baden, Assistant Federal Security Director for Screening, said the attacks remain personal for him.
“I was actually in the Department of Defense near the Pentagon on 9/11, so I still have memories of what happened that day,” Baden said.
Baden now works with airport security teams in Jacksonville and at other airports across North Florida. He said those memories help remind him why he does the work.
“I have a specific personal memory of 9/11, which always brings it back to why I’m doing what I do,” Baden said. “Day to day, we can sometimes forget, but when we have a ceremony like this today, it always reminds me of how dedicated my team is to make sure everyone flies safe.”
Some airports are now beginning to restore a small part of the pre-9/11 travel experience. TSA recently rolled out Gateside by TSA PreCheck, which allows some people who are not flying to accompany loved ones to their gates.
The program comes with restrictions. It is available only to TSA PreCheck members, who must apply one to three days in advance and complete a full security screening at the airport. The program is currently available at 13 airports across the country. Orlando International Airport is the only participating airport in Florida or Georgia.
At Jacksonville International Airport, reminders of the attacks and those who lost their lives were visible throughout the terminal. The observance served as a tribute to the past and a reminder of how the events of 9/11 continue to shape air travel a quarter century later.
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