With a final early morning visit to an eerily empty Beijing airport before leaving the Winter Olympics, one comes full circle.

Masked travellers 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, like a scene from Steven Soderbergh’s pandemic thriller “Contagion.”

These faceless personnel manage the airport, whether it’s checking in passengers for flights or transporting an athlete’s skis.

Olympic workers in protective clothing have a meeting at Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing, China. 
Olympic workers in protective clothing help travelers at Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Beijing, China.
A volunteer carries a passenger’s luggage at Beijing Capital International Airport after the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing.
Passengers check their bags at the Beijing Capital International Airport after the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing.
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.
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.
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.
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. 
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.