Four flights that had been diverted Tuesday had left 87 passengers stranded in Augusta.

Passengers board ASA Flight 4529, which was the first flight out of Augusta since the grounding of all flights due to Tuesday's attacks in New York and Washington D.C. CHRIS THELEN/STAFF

As the skies opened to commercial traffic, they closed to the annual air show at Daniel Field airport- scheduled to begin next Thursday. ''Due to these uncontrollable circumstances the FAA and the United States military have suggested that we reschedule our program to a later unknown date,'' said Ed Johnson, the chairman of the Boshears Skyfest 2001.

After President Bush designated Friday as a national day of prayer and remembrance, churches in Georgia and South Carolina began making plans for vigils and services. Augusta's leaders already were in prayer at the National Race Unity Day Service. The program at Beulah Grove Baptist Church had been planned weeks in advance.

City political and business leaders began finalizing plans for an aggressive, weeklong fund-raising campaign to benefit victims of the attack on the World Trade Center and their families.

''It is a community project the way it is being envisioned,'' Mayor Bob Young said. ''Whether you're a wealthy businessperson or a child who brings a few pennies to school, we want to give everybody an opportunity to participate.''

Members of an 11-member Disaster Medical Assistance Team were on their way home. The team had been activated Tuesday night and had joined a 29-member unit from Atlanta to travel to Washington. After experiencing a flat tire on their charter bus and other initial delays, the groups headed toward Washington, only to be stopped about a half-hour away in Ashland, Va. The military had decided to use its own mobile medical units at the Pentagon because of the sensitive nature of some of the material handled there, said Dr. Sanford Hawkins, the Augusta unit commander.

Compiled by Staff Writer Amy Swann