MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tires squeak on the runway every three to four minutes, announcing arrivals from Phoenix, Omaha, Orlando, other points across the country.
The procession of Cessnas, Beechcraft, Hawkers, even a jumbo-sized Boeing 777, pulls up to two Minneapolis-St. Paul airports, whirring to a halt as anticipation inside the cabins builds. Doors open to heroes' welcomes of cheers and high-fives, bringing big smiles to the faces of the passengers.
This is the Special Olympics Airlift, a parade of planes like no other.
"Traveling together makes us feel connected, supported and able to compete,” Team Arizona cheerleading athlete Brianna Sanchez said. “This experience is about more than competition. It's about growth, leadership and showing what we can achieve.”
The Special Olympics have been a bastion of empowerment since Eunice Kennedy Shriver laid the groundwork for the first Games in 1968, allowing people with intellectual disabilities to be recognized for the gifts they have, find themselves being included instead of excluded.
The Special Olympics Airlift has been the driving — flying? — force for getting athletes to and from the Special Olympics for nearly 40 years.
Made up entirely of volunteer pilots, aircraft and crew, the Special Olympics Airlift has transported more than 10,000 athletes to the Special Olympics USA Games.
The airlift to this year’s Games, which wrap up Friday in Minneapolis, featured 130 flights from 25 cities carrying more than 800 athletes and covering nearly 300,000 round-trip nautical miles. Textron Aviation organizes the airlift and had 200 volunteers on the ground last Friday to handle everything from baggage to refueling to manning the tugs to move the aircraft around.
“It’s a massive effort, as you can imagine,” Textron President and CEO Ron Draper said. “But it’s very rewarding to do something for other people and, in this case, you see the immediate feedback and appreciation from those athletes and those teams. That’s why we do it.”
The airlift is coordinated with the FAA, which redirects air traffic in the central U.S. most of the day and has a team on site. The aircraft, manned by Textron's customers, receive special “Dove” call signs and receive priority handling within the US National Airspace System.
Half of St. Paul Downtown Airport shut down to accommodate the airlift, with volunteers and Special Olympics officials on the ground providing rousing welcomes for each group of athletes.
“For many, it's the first time they get to ride on an airplane,” said Prent Corporation's Chris Clawson, pilot of Dove 1, the first to land in Minneapolis-St. Paul. “Transportation is not something they need to stress about — they can actually enjoy it.”
Members of the Arizona and New Mexico delegations — roughly 170 people — got a special treat, flying on the Arizona Cardinals’ team plane out of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. They not only sat in the same seats NFL players use, it was a first-class experience that included gift bags and meal service — build-your-own burger, Southwest chicken burrito or Mediterranean salad, a fresh chocolate chip cookie for dessert.
The flight, operated by Cardinals team affiliate Gridiron Air, landed at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport to cheers and a chant of “USA!” from the athletes inside. The plane was doused with a double water cannon salute before pulling into the gate, where a boisterous crowd of several dozen people greeted the exiting athletes.
“I don't really watch movies on planes very often, but that was something we could do up there and they actually served food,” Team Arizona powerlifting athlete Zakarias Hollingshead said. “That's not something I've ever gotten before.”
The Cardinals’ Boeing 777-200ER team plane was the first widebody aircraft to participate in the airlift's 40 years.
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill has been involved with Special Olympics for several years, even personally flying athletes to various competitions. When Textron approached him about donating use of the team's plane, Bidwill jumped at the opportunity.
“We’re proud to put these athletes on the same airplane that Trey McBride is on, that Budda Baker is riding on, that all of our players and greats over the last several years have ridden on, so they can ride in style to Minneapolis to compete in the games," Bidwill said. "We hope it was a great ride. We’re happy to support it.”
The Special Olympics USA Games are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many of the athletes.
So is the ride there.
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AP Sports Writer David Brandt contributed to this story.
