Textron Aviation has designated Signature Aviation as the exclusive FBO sponsor for this year’s Special Olympics Airlift, to be held this June in Minnesota. The Wichita-based airframer has organized the airlift, which unites the aviation community and has transported more than 10,000 athletes to the Special Olympics USA Games since 1987.
As part of the world’s largest peacetime airlift, Textron will mobilize more than 100 volunteer Cessna, Beechcraft, and Hawker owners and pilots to carry participating athletes and their coaches to the games on Friday, June 19, and return them home on Saturday, June 27.
“The Special Olympics Airlift is about creating an experience where athletes feel welcomed and celebrated from the moment they arrive,” said Textron Aviation president and CEO Ron Draper. “Signature Aviation helps make that possible with a level of care that turns the journey into a meaningful part of the Games.”
Signature, the world’s largest FBO network, will provide operational and hospitality support from 17 of its locations throughout the country as athletes travel to and from the Minneapolis area.
A Signature hangar at St. Paul Downtown Airport/Holman Field (KSTP) will be renovated and converted into the Champion Center—a dedicated arrival and departure space designed to celebrate athletes from the moment they step off the aircraft through their journey home following the Games.
“This is what our industry can do at its best—come together in service of something bigger than ourselves,” said Signature CEO Tony Lefebvre. “We’re honored to support the Special Olympics Airlift and help create an experience that reflects the dignity, excitement, and pride these athletes bring to the Games.”