Alan Hugley was at work the morning of 9/11. He’s a Flight Dispatcher for Southwest Airlines, and while the country was grappling with the events of that day, The Federal Aviation Administration ordered an immediate grounding of all planes nationwide. This was an order that Alan had to execute. In this episode we hear Alan Hugley’s story of 9/11, and what the day meant for him working at Southwest.

For more stories on Southwest Airlines’ 50 years of flying and a look behind the scenes, check out latimes.com/isthisseatopen