American Airlines Marks 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks

American Airlines has marked the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the USA.

It and the CR Smith Museum - which is American Airlines' own museum - are honouring those on board Flight 11 and Flight 77 and the thousands of lives lost in the September 11, 2001, attacks by making the airline and museum’s 9/11 collection available to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Additionally, American is also providing financial support through The Never Forget Fund. The airline is also supporting the future National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Visitor Education Center through financial contributions and the donation of artifacts from the airline’s care related to the events at the Pentagon.

American Airlines CEO, Robert Isom, said: “9/11 forever changed our airline, our industry and our world.

“Over the years, our team has worked to honour the legacy of those lost, preserve their memories and shed light on the remarkable showing of care, resilience and humanity that followed that dark day.”

Since opening to the public in May 2014, more than 27 million visitors to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum have viewed artifacts related to American, including aircraft fragments, team member identification cards and boarding passes recovered at Ground Zero that help tell the story of the day and its lasting effect.

These artifacts on long-term loan to the Museum have helped to support its important mission to preserve the history of the events of September 11 while ensuring future generations understand the profound effect of that day.

The CR Smith Museum, located on American’s Robert L. Crandall Campus in Fort Worth, Texas, currently houses more than 1,000 additional artifacts connected to the events of September 11 and the extraordinary outpouring of support that followed from the aviation industry and global community.

“While these items have served as a powerful educational resource for our team members and the public who have visited the CR Smith Museum over the past several years, their appropriate home should be where they can reach the broadest possible audience and contribute to the ongoing mission of remembrance and education,” continued Mr Isom.

American and the CR Smith Museum plan to make additional artifacts from their collections available to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, whether through donation or an expansion of the current long-term loan. These additional artifacts include items such as:

• A flag passed from flight deck to flight deck of American’s aircraft as a symbol of resilience, unity and support in the weeks following Sept. 11

• Memorial quilts crafted in honor of those lost

• Hundreds of pieces of correspondence from around the globe that demonstrate an outpouring of support for those lost, the airline and the aviation industry

"With over 100 million Americans born after or too young to remember 9/11, our mission to ‘never forget’ is even more essential,” said President & CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum Beth Hillman. “We are grateful to American Airlines and the CR Smith Museum for supporting our commitment to remembering the courage and resilience shown that day, honoring those who perished and preserving the stories of September 11th for future generations.”