Operation Yellow Ribbon was started by Canada to help with the diversion of civilian airline flights because of the September 11 attacks in 2001. It was to make sure that possible destructive air traffic was removed from the United States airspace as quickly as possible, and away from potential U.S. targets. Instead they placed the aircraft on the ground in Canada, mainly at military and civilian airports in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia (as well as some in New Brunswick, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec). Canada began the operation after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (carried out by Security Control of Air Traffic and Air Navigation Aids (SCATANA)) had grounded all the aircraft across the United States. The FAA was then able to work with Transport Canada to reroute the incoming international flights to airports in Canada.