Young cancer patients "fly" to the North Pole to see Santa

Christmas is still a week away but some Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta patients have already been to see Santa.

All photos by Chris Rank/ Rank Studios. Courtesy of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

A group of 43 battling childhood cancers and blood disorders at the Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta "flew" to the North Pole on a Delta charter flight Saturday.

Off to the North Pole!

A special police escort accompanied the patients to the Hartsfield-Jackson's international terminal (since the North Pole is far away, of course). Once inside the terminal helpful elves walked the young travelers through the check-in process.

Here we go!

Before the flight "took off" children got to meet with Delta pilots:

The "flight" to the North Pole only took 45 minutes. Those planes move fast! And the flight was so smooth that it *might* have felt like the plane was just taxiing around the runway..

When the flight arrived at the "North Pole," guess who was there to greet the passengers. Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus!

It's really cold at the North Pole, you know. In fact it was snowing, even inside!

Children danced and made crafts with Santa's elves. A few made snowballs.