Janet (airline)

Airline of the United States

Janet and Janet Airlines are unofficial names of a highly classified fleet of passenger aircraft operated for the United States Department of the Air Force as an employee shuttle to transport military, DoD civilians, and contractor employees to Special Access Program Facilities (SAPF). The airline mainly serves the Nevada Test and Training Range (most notably Area 51 and the Tonopah Test Range) from a private terminal at Las Vegas's Harry Reid International Airport. The airline's aircraft are generally unmarked aside from a red cheatline along the aircraft's windows.

The fleet's "Janet" call sign is said to stand for "Just Another Non Existent Terminal" or "Joint Air Network for Employee Transportation". The first flights from Las Vegas to Area 51 were performed in 1972 by a Douglas DC 6 operated by EG&G. A second DC 6 was added in 1976 and this type remained in use until 1981. After the October 2017 Las Vegas shooting massacre, news surfaced that the shooter, in addition to firing at concertgoers, had also targeted aviation fuel tanks at nearby Harry Reid International Airport (still McCarran International Airport). Further reporting by the New York Post suggested a possible connection between the vulnerable fuel tanks and a classified Janet operation. As of November 2023, the U. S. Air Force is looking for a new civilian contractor to operate the Janet fleet. In a solicitation, they outline that a potential new operator would have to operate up to 190 flights per week.

Due to the airline's secretive nature, little is known about its organization. It is presently operated for the USAF by infrastructure and defense contractor Amentum through the company's acquisition of AECOM's defense contracting ventures. Originally the service was operated by EG&G, and later URS Corporation; this is mainly known as a result of periodic job openings published by URS and AECOM. Due to its secrecy, Janet airlines boards at a standalone terminal on the west side of Harry Reid International Airport. Janet flights operate with a three digit flight number and a WWW prefix. In the official publication of ICAO airline codes, this specific three letter designator is listed as being blocked. The primary airline callsign is simply "Janet," though flights transition to alternate callsigns, called Groom Callsigns once transferred over to Groom Lake from Nellis control. The name typically changes, and the number will be the last 2 digits of the flight number +15. For example, if the callsign were Janet 412 and were transferred to Groom Lake control, the callsign would be something like "Bunny 27".

Aircraft Crash site Damage Route Description Time Fatalities Refs Origin DestinationBeech 1900C N27RA southeast of Tonopah Test Range AirportW/O—Tonopah Test Range AirportDuring approach, the pilot reported runway in sight, and entered a circle pattern. The pilot then became incapacitated due to sudden cardiac death. During the turn, the plane entered a dive before crashing into the ground and bursting into flames as its fuel load ignited. It was later revealed the pilot suffered from high blood pressure, and had neglected to report it.16 March 2004, 04:01All 5 occupants