And it's interesting that he stayed in Manhattan, which just happens to be where the ambassador's kid was. Is that why they won't name the hotel?
Hmmm. Still haven't said why he went to Portland.I thought that was determined. They thought the security would be less intense there. Note the 12 minute gap between check-out time and flight departure, where any visible nerves would be mistaken for lateness-concern and security people would be less likely to stop them because of them.
-Eric
Mohamed Atta and Abdulatif A. Al-Omari spent the night at the Comfort Inn in South Portland on Monday and then, at 5:45 the next morning, flew from Portland International Jetport to Boston. From there, officials say, they hijacked an American Airlines jet and commenced to horrify the nation.
The Press Herald has learned that Al-Omari may have spent considerable time in Portland, over an undetermined period. Sources said Thursday that officials are investigating reports that the 31-year-old had a relationship with a woman here.
The woman, who may still live here, contacted authorities after two hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City.
The Times reported that the men then phoned the Bangor airport looking for a flight to Boston, but that there was no flight that met their desired departure time. The newspaper further reported that the men then phoned the Portland jetport, where two of them apparently made reservations on a Tuesday morning flight to Boston.
At the Airport Marriott Hotel, visible from Terminal A...Somewhere upstairs at the Marriott, other passengers were gathered.
Ziad Jarrah had come to the hotel a day earlier and paid cash for seven rooms. He and his companions ate the night before at Priscilla's, the hotel's upscale restaurant, where prime steak sells for $34, baby New Zealand lamb goes for $30, and cream of watercress soup starts at $10. "They paid cash for everything," said one hotel waiter.