As terrorist attacks unfolded on September 11, 2001 the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, like airports across the country, quickly became a haven for aircraft from all across the United States.
"We saw aircraft deliveries that we'd never seen here in the past. Let's hope we never see that again unless it's a scheduled operation" said Roy Fuhrmann, the Chief Operating Officer for the Metropolitan Airports Commission.
As the day went on, Fuhrmann says the airfield went quiet.
"From that point, for the next week roughly, there was minimal commercial traffic and what we saw was the deployment of local resources," Fuhrmann said. "Especially some of the units out of Duluth with the F-16s for immediate response, just if necessary because all of the unknown."
Matt Christenson was named Chief of Police of the MSP Airport Police Department in 2020 and began his career in 1991 as a community officer. On September 11, 2001 Christenson was on duty as a sergeant and remembers the standstill that followed the attacks.
"I watched as air traffic came to a halt and the terminals emptied out over the following weeks," Christenson said. "As we started to reopen air traffic, we made sure the airport had the law enforcement and military resources needed to do so safely."
Following 9/11 airports across the country including MSP quickly saw a number of changes embedded into safety plans. Among the biggest and most noticeable changes was the addition of the Transportation Security Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Today, over 50,000 transportation security officers are responsible for the security of nearly 440 federalized airports.
"Depending on what that threat is there is always a constant changing of tactics as well as understanding what the evolving threat is for airports," Fuhrmann said. "We continuously evaluate that on regular basis to make sure that we're staying up to date with the tactics and procedures available throughout the country and around the world."
Christenson says the work of a sergeant prior to September 11, 2001 and now as a chief post-9/11 are two completely different worlds. For instance, the police force at MSP has nearly doubled in size since 2001.
"Prior to 2001 I think that we had it in our heads that an attack could occur but I don't know that we really realized the level that we do today that it can happen at any time," added Christenson.
Aside from the training and collaboration at a federal level when it comes to airport safety, another change in the 20 years since September 11, 2001 has been the reliance on passengers to be the eyes and ears of the airport.
"Anytime there is a disruption onboard the aircraft we see others coming to the aid of flight crews and those who are asking for assistance," Fuhrmann added. "We really thank everyone for that awareness as well as that commitment to make sure that travel is safe."