Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and St. Paul Downtown Airport were excited to host the arrival of thousands of athletes to the Twin Cities on Friday, June 19, for the Special Olympics USA Games.
The Textron Airlift took place at the St. Paul airport, with 120 flights of private aircraft arriving over the course of 8 hours. The athletes arrived from cities across the nation, greeted in St. Paul by a host of volunteers. Dierks Bentley, a Nashville-based country artist, flew one of the planes transporting athletes and spoke at a press conference held that morning.
See video of the St. Paul Downtown Airport arrivals here.
At MSP Airport, athletes arrived on commercial flights from a variety of cities across the nation. Dozens of volunteers from Airport Foundation MSP were at arrival gates to welcome each plane bringing in Special Olympics athletes.
On Friday afternoon, a chartered Boeing 777, operated by the Arizona Cardinals football organization, brought in a flight of 140 athletes and coaches to MSP. The plane arrived at Terminal 2 and received a water cannon salute. Once inside, athletes were greeted warmly by volunteers and fans.
