United Airlines has good reason to memorialize 9/11, as United Airlines Flight 175 was the second aircraft to strike the World Trade Center. Later that day, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field after passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers. In total, the company lost 18 employees, including pilots and crew.
And so, to mark 25 years since 9/11, the company unveiled a memorial event “to honor and remember the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.” As per The Denver Post, this was intended to consist of a Boeing 777 flying at a lower-than-usual altitude over Denver with a fighter plane escort.
Denver emergency management officials alerted the public to the flyover to ensure as many people on the ground were aware why there was a low-flying jet escorted by fighter jets over their neighborhoods. They said, “There is no emergency. This is a planned memorial event. The flyover is intended to honor and remember the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.”
“There is no emergency. This is a planned memorial event.”
However, it was quickly pointed out that perhaps flying a passenger jet at an unusual altitude surrounded by fighter jets might not be a great look on September 11. And, if the city has to go out of its way to explain to the public that “there is no emergency”, that’s a tacit acknowledgement that the memorial could raise widespread alarm, particularly on this specific date. And, indeed, the city was reportedly ready for emergency lines to be swamped by anxious callers.
Jon Ewing, spokesperson for Mayor Mike Johnston, pointed out in a statement that this memorial had the potential to cause unpleasant shock and surprise from the general public, saying (via The Denver Post) that “We understood it as a means of honoring the victims of 9/11, first responders, pilots and the aviation community, but we also understood there could be significant concerns or surprise from the public.”
Ewing explained that United Airlines’ plans had received a mixed reaction from the community, with some describing the idea as concerning. Faced with these concerns, United has chosen to cancel the flyover, saying it was planned as “a meaningful gesture to honor the memory of those lost within the pilot community”, and confirming that it “will suspend those plans due to concerns in the community and instead carry on with the other events of the day.”
United will now mark the anniversary with a private memorial service that’s not open to the public, with all employees and other airport staff at Denver International Airport pausing for a moment of silence at 09:03, the minute Flight 175 hit the South Tower. Later in the week, United will unveil a new monument at its flight training center made from steel recovered from the World Trade Center.
Published: Sep 10, 2026 04:27 am