BEIJING (AP) — Leaving the Winter Olympics brings one full circle with a final early morning visit to an eerily empty Beijing airport.
Like a scene out of Steven Soderbergh’s pandemic thriller “Contagion,” masked travelers are greeted by an army of workers in full hazmat suits — white with blue stripes — with face shields or masks and goggles, a final, nondescript interaction after weeks inside the closed loop that kept Games participants separate from the general population.
Whether checking in visitors for their flights or carrying an athlete’s skis, these hermetically sealed workers facelessly run the airport. AP photographers on their way home from the Olympics captured them on the job.
A worker addressing his crew lined up like sentries added drawings of the popular Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen to the back of a suit. Another crew gets a push on a cart, bobsled team-like. Canada’s hockey team’s bags get taken for a ride.
No matter the task, it’s being done in full protective gear, a last shield from the coronavirus in a zero-COVID policy country.
An Olympic worker wearing a protective suit pushes trolleys at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Olympic workers in protective clothing help travelers at Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Airport workers assist with luggage at the Beijing Capital International Airport at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Airport workers assist with luggage at the Beijing Capital International Airport at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A volunteer carries a passenger’s luggage at Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Passengers check their bags at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Olympic workers in protective clothing rest after they helped travelers at the Beijing Capital International airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
A volunteer moves a passenger’s baggage at Beijing Capital International Airport after the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
A customs worker checks forms at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Jamaican passengers line up to check in for their flights at Beijing Capital International Airport after the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Olympic workers in protective clothing rest after they helped travelers at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
An airport employee in protective gear works at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Olympic workers in protective clothing pose for a picture at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Volunteers ride on a cart at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Olympic workers in protective clothing help travelers at the Beijing Capital International airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Olympic workers in protective clothing take a rest after helping travelers at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Olympic workers in protective clothing stand at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
People sleep on benches next to cutouts of the Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)