Have you ever heard of Janet Airlines? This airline is the most exclusive airline in the entire world. No money in this world can buy you a boarding pass for one of their planes. You probably ask yourself now what is so special about this airline. It’s for sure not their airplanes. These are mostly older Boeing 737-600 and some smaller Beechcraft executive jets.
So is it their home base? Well, Janet Airlines home airport is Sin City – better known as Las Vegas. Their airline tracking code is “WWW”. You can watch the Janet fleet live on Flightaware.
The reason why you can’t buy a boarding pass for Janet Airlines is, you need Top Security Clearance. Maybe even beyond that. The destination is which makes this airline so special. Janet flies to Dreamland, also called “The Ranch”, Groom Lake or it’s world famous name – AREA 51.
Yes, that’s right. Janet Airlines flies scientists, military personnel, workers and other staff from Las Vegas to various places in the desert. Sometimes they also fly to other Air Force bases.
When you watch the plane movement on Flightaware you will see that the outbound flights name Tonopah Test Range. Some of them fly to Desert Rock Airport, others head north towards “Area51” but disappear shortly after from the live tracker. The whole airspace over this area is restricted airspace.
Desert Rock Airport is near the “town” of Mercury. When you drive on Highway 95, you actually see an off-ramp with the name “Mercury” on it. But shortly after that is a huge No Trespassing sign. There are no gates, no guards or any other visible barriers. But please don’t cross the line. They will get you before you even make it close to something interesting. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be called the most heavily guarded place on earth. When I took the off-ramp I was expecting heading towards the desert but got greeted with the signs. I took a couple of pictures and left again. From this location, you can actually see Desert Rock Airport.
The airline usually flies Monday – Friday. A pretty detailed schedule and more information about Dreamland can be found on the Dreamland Resort website. With help of the schedule on that website, I was able to get some shots of Janet planes arriving and departing the Las Vegas International Airport.
The Janet fleet is registered and operated by EG&G for the US Air Force.
The Janet terminal is located east of the south end of the Las Vegas strip on Haven Street. It’s basically hiding in plain sight. You can drive by the terminal and get a small glimpse inside when passing the security gate of the parking lot. If the planes are parked, you get to see some of them in the distance. Please be careful around this area and don’t trespass. Neither onto the airport property or the Janet Terminal. Keep your activity down to a minimum.
Janet Airlines uses runway 01L/19R for arrivals and departures. This runway is shared with other general aviation planes. The planes are easy to spot. Besides that, there are no visible markings of any type on the aircraft, except the registration number, the 737 planes have a prominent red cheatline along the fuselage.
It’s said that JANET stands for “Just Another Non-Existent Terminal”. There is probably another meaning for the name, but as the planes use Janet as callsign and due to the airlines secret-nature, the above acronym fits very well.
So whats your take on Area 51 and Janet Airlines?
Peter has a passion for Traveling, Photography, and Geocaching. These are the best ingredients for amazing adventures all over the globe. “Traveling is fun, no matter if you stay in a luxury hotel or travel like a backpacker.” Peter shares his experiences on his Blog www.gatetoadventures.com
Some of Peter’s photos are published on corporate websites, in-flight magazines, travel guides, and much more.
