Post-deregulation, new carriers rushed into the market, and new routes directly connected cities previously accessible only via a string of layovers. Fares dropped as competition and the number of customers increased. A 1981 air traffic controllers strike brought a temporary setback to the growth, which continued throughout the 1980s. Some of the major carriers who had dominated the skies during the middle portion of the century, such as Pan American and TWA, began to collapse in the wake of competition. Such carriers disappeared completely following the Gulf War and subsequent recession of the early 1990s. Surviving airlines rode out the recession and returned to record profitability by the late 1990s.