Stranded Islanders were looking forward to coming home yesterday after air traffic in the United States was completely shut down following Tuesday's terrorist attacks.

And Government said it was doing everything it could, through its American Department of Tourism offices, to help Bermudians and Bermuda residents to contact their relatives and also to find them a place to stay while they wait for the first available flight home.

Jim Ivy, who works for TeleBermuda International, was in Washington, DC on business when an airliner crashed into the Pentagon on Tuesday morning.

He said he was "anxious" to come home to see his family and added, while he did not witness the attack on the Pentagon itself, he saw President Bush's helicopter arrive at the White House, escorted by fighter jets, following the brutal attacks.

And he described how the American capital was "eerily quiet" in the hours following the plane crash.

"It was like there was some kind of holiday on here.

"But we knew there wasn't.

"The streets were almost empty and everything was quiet."

Mr. Ivy said he was "very concerned that this sort of activity would get so close to home".

And he described how he had friends that he knew had been impacted by the attacks.

"My heart goes out to them, " he said.

"Thankfully we were outside the areas of attack, but everyone was very concerned.

"It's certainly a disheartening situation and there are so many people impacted by it."

Asked if it made him afraid to step onto a plane, Mr. Ivy said: "I think we will all be anxious after this and a little more on edge.

"We can't stop doing what we have to do.

"It's part of the foundation of our society that we have freedom of travel.

"Hopefully, the issue will dissipate and we'll return to some quasi-state of normalcy."

Former Mayor of Hamilton Cecil Dismont and his wife Lee, who were unable to contact their relatives for more than 24 hours following the airport lockdown, said the worst part of being stranded was "not being able to tell our family that we were okay."

"We weren't afraid, but just concerned about where we would stay that night," said Mr. Dismont.

The couple had boarded the US Airways flight scheduled to leave the Philadelphia International Airport shortly after 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday.

The aeroplane taxied down the runway, but abruptly slowed down and turned back toward the terminal.

The captain came on the intercom and made an announcement about the disaster in New York.

"We were told to get our bags and go to the nearest ticket office before the airport closed down," said Mrs. Dismont.

"Meanwhile, there were people everywhere like crazy, and hospitality crews were offering people peanut butter crackers and water."

The Dismonts said they waited in long lines as more than 200 people queued up to rebook their flights.

But once they were confirmed on a flight scheduled to arrive back in Bermuda tomorrow, they discovered that hotels in Philadelphia were full as a result of the multiple flight cancellations.

"The airlines were only finding accommodations for people who were in transit.

"There were no beds in any hotel in Philadelphia, and we eventually had to catch a cab to New Jersey and arrived at a hotel there after dark," said Mrs. Dismont.

Sheryl Martins said her sister Lynn Ball had been flying back to Bermuda from Toronto when her Air Canada plane was unexpectedly diverted to Norfolk, Virginia.

Ms Ball could not be reached by telephone last night but Mrs. Martins described how the flight was suddenly interrupted to make an emergency landing there.

"They told my sister in mid-flight that there had been a plane crash somewhere and that they would have to stop at the nearest airport.

"She didn't find out what had happened until after they landed.

"When she found out she was completely devastated and in disbelief."

Asked how Ms Ball was reacting to the being stranded, Mrs. Martins said: "Actually, she's quite calm.

"She has strong faith in God and she's anxious to come home safely.

"We're praying here as well."

She continued: "When anything like this happens you want to be on home ground."

Government said workers at Bermuda's Tourism offices in New York and Boston were able to either get back to their homes or stay at the homes of colleagues on Tuesday night, despite Tourism Minister David Allen's statement that they would have to camp in the tourism office overnight.

Tourism Director Richard Calderon said the offices were open yesterday and had received calls from a few stranded Bermudians who wanted to get in touch with family members at home or needed to find accommodation.

"There may be more people trying to call but they are still having problems with receiving phone calls.

"However, the people that are calling are being helped with finding a place to stay and contacting their families.

"We hope that any Bermudians in need of assistance will come to the offices.

"I guess it's as close to an embassy as they are going to get right now."