Gallery: Special Olympics Airlift Carries Athletes To 2026 Games

The ninth Special Olympics Airlift, organized by Textron Aviation, on June 19 flew about 800 athletes and coaches from 26 locations around the U.S. to the St. Paul Downtown Airport In Minnesota for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games.

Wichita pilot Jeff Greenberg speaks with athletes before boarding his Citation Mustang in preparation for take off. His was one of about 120 aircraft mobilized during the airlift.

The games, which run June 20 through June 26, will be held at the University of Minnesota. Volunteers will return to fly athletes home on June 27.

Coaches and athletes check in with volunteers at Textron Aviation headquarters in Wichita for a flight to the Special Olympics games. 

Volunteers gather bags to load onto aircraft taking part in the Special Olympics Airlift. 

Chris Hearne, Textron Aviation senior vice president of engineering, kicks off a send-off celebration for Kansas athletes and coaches heading to the Special Olympics USA Games in the early morning on June 19.

“The Special Olympics Airlift is far more than transportation; it’s about removing boundaries,” Hearne told those gathered. “It’s about making sure the athletes arrive with confidence and feeling like champions--knowing that the entire community is behind them, cheering them on from the very start…. What we see this morning is a powerful example of what can happen when a community comes together with a shared purpose. Volunteers, aviation professionals, city leaders, Textron Aviation employees and partners are all playing a role to make this moment possible.”

For the athletes, this is your moment after months of training, Hearne said.

“Compete hard, support one another and enjoy every second of the experience ahead knowing that Kansas is proud of you.” 

Jeff Meyer, pilot and son of the late Russ Meyer, longtime chair and CEO of Cessna Aircraft now Textron Aviation, was one of several speakers welcoming athletes, coaches in a send-off in Wichita. 

"This is the first airlift since we lost my dad in March," Jeff Meyer said. "But I can honestly tell you, for a man with such an amazing legacy, this was probably his favorite day every year. He was so proud, not just of what he did to arrange this Airlift, but of everybody who pitched in to help."

Cheerleaders from Wichita’s Bishop Carroll High School, the Wind Surge baseball team’s mascot, volunteers, city officials and others give a warm send-off to the athletes before boarding their respective aircraft.

Each location hosts sendoff celebrations to bid farewell to the Special Olympics delegates. Departures took place from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Houston, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix and other locations. 

Rebecca Shepherd said she was excited to meet new athletes and to represent Kansas in the track and field competition at the Special Olympic Games.

“I was feeling very nervous,” Shepherd tells Aviation Week before boarding Dove 17 in Wichita. “Now I’m feeling so hyped up.”

Marquel Russell, a native of Topeka, Kansas, will compete in Track & Field at the 2026 Games, including the 100-meter, 200-meter and long jump. He won a gold medal at the 2022 Games.

“I just love competing,” Russell said. “It’s a feeling I can’t describe in words.”

While it’s his second year participating in the USA Games, it’s his first time in a jet, he said, and was looking forward to the flight. 

A sign from the celebration in Wichita. 

On June 19, an aircraft carrying coaches and athletes landed every three to four minutes throughout the day at the St. Paul Downtown Airport.

The carefully coordinated Special Olympics Airlift is the largest airlift in peacetime history in more than 40 years. During the Special Olympics Airlift, aircraft flying from across the country to the games are known as Doves, a symbol of peace. In a special call sign, Doves are given National Airspace System priority by the FAA while they fly in the airlift. 

Kevin Colson, with Clemens Aviation Management in Wichita, prepares to take off for the Special Olympics Games. 

A Dove aircraft preparing to take off for the USA Games. 

The Special Olympics Airlift was founded by Textron Aviation, then Cessna Aircraft Co., in 1987 when two Citation business jets flew the Kansas Special Olympics delegation to the International Special Olympics Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

A Cessna Citation Latitude business jet, with the call sign Dove 1, arrived at St. Paul Downtown Airport. The aircraft was operated by Prent Corp.

“The arrival of Dove 1 is always a powerful moment,” says Ron Draper, Textron Aviation president and CEO. “It represents months of planning, the generosity of the aviation community and most importantly, the excitement and anticipation of athletes arriving ready to compete.”

The longest Dove flight was from Orlando, flying 1,137 nm, while the shortest was a flight from Council Bluffs, Nebraska, with a distance of 250 nm.

Special Olympics athletes arrive at the St. Paul Downtown Airport in Minnesota for the games. 

The first group, passengers from Dove 1, pose after landing at the St. Paul Downtown Airport.

A Beechcraft King Air turboprop that took part in the Special Olympics Airlift against the St Paul downtown skyline after unloading passengers and coaches.