Two Royal Netherlands Air Force F16s, from airbase Eelde, escorted the flight into Schiphol. On board, the athletes and all the other passengers were given a celebratory KLM goody bag and a miniature KLM aircraft bearing a special inscription. The athletes disembarked down a staircase onto an orange carpet where they were met by a blue KLM guard of honour. They then boarded a bus and were escorted by the Royal Military Police and the Amsterdam Police to the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam for a homecoming celebration.

Baggage

The Olympic team’s baggage was specially labelled in South Korea. It then passed through security, was put in separate containers, and taken aboard the KLM aircraft. The containers were loaded onto a lorry at Schiphol, which followed the athletes’ bus to the Olympic Stadium. The remaining passengers on flight KL854 left the aircraft in the usual way, through a boarding bridge to the gate.

KLM is the NOC*NSF’s preferred carrier.