On Monday 27 May, two Finnish Air Force Hawk 51’s scrambled Leijonat, the Finnish men’s national ice hockey team that became World Champion on Sunday.
Finnair operated an Airbus A320 (OH-LXM) to pick up the world ice hockey champions at Bratislava, Slovakia and to bring them back to Helsinki.
Finavia welcomed Ice Hockey World Championships winners with a water salute
The Finnish gold medalist team that won the Ice Hockey World Championships arrived to Helsinki Airport during the afternoon of May 27. Finavia congratulated the team with a great water salute.
The Rescue Service’s new fire rescue vehicles, the so-called “Panthers”, sprayed a large water arc with water cannons above the team’s aircraft. Water salute is an international tradition that is used to mark significant events. The aircraft was then directed to its place with ice hockey sticks, according to the sports theme.
Photo: The team arrived in Finland with gold medals on their neck to meet their loved ones and discuss with the media. In the foreground, coach Jukka Jalonen.
Photo: Team Captain Marko Anttila and other lions were welcomed back to Finland, with characteristic words by Helsinki Airport.
Photo: The media was present to meet the gold medalists.
Working for 25 years in the aviation industry, I changed my career and became a firefighter/EMT in 2021. I like to spend my free time with my two sons, girlfriend, family and friends. I love to travel, wine and dine and support my favourite football squad KV Mechelen. Once an Ironman 70.3 finisher and dreaming of completing a full distance.