I doubt it. These guys are really allowed to make decisions like that on their own. Not only do the air-traffic controllers control their speed and altitude,but so do their accountants. These things burn a BUNCH of fuel with they kick in their afterburners. I went outside the terminal to smoke a cigarette several times,and the noise when they took off was actually painful. Painful enough it reminds me of federal and local noise-control laws around airports. These were obviously being violated.
And there was a ton of speculation back then. It doesn't reflect a briefed threat, does it? Just personal precaution.
I doubt there would ever be anything such as a formal briefing on a issue this sensitive. If word were to get out that terrorists were shooting down US passenger jets with Stinger-style missles,the whole US airline industry would collapse. A much better plan would be to whisper into the pilots ears something along the line of ,"we really ain't sure what happened,but it might be a good idea to gain altitude and distance as quickly as possible.".
SHOULD have read,"These guys are NOT really allowed....."