Mario L. Giannini was at Heathrow Airport about to board a flight to Philadelphia when he heard an announcement that U.S. airspace was closed “because of a security incident.”
“Someone called me and said the World Trade Towers had collapsed and I thought they had gotten the story wrong,” said Mr. Giannini, CEO of Hamilton Lane, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based alternative consultant and money manager.
In the taxi ride back to London, Mr. Giannini watched CNN. “It just didn't seem real,” he said.
Mr. Giannini ended up staying in London for a week. “I remember when I finally could leave for the U.S., I was in Heathrow and they had a moment of silence. You could hear the proverbial pin drop. and it was so strange to be in that airport with no sound.”
