Every day, intriguing white and red planes allegedly fly between the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas and the even more mysterious Area 51 in the USA. It is an airline that operates as ‘Janet’ and is registered in the name of the US Air Force (USAF).
No one knows who travels inside, exactly. Only that the passengers have the highest security clearance, and that they are probably employees of the military bases that the United States Army identifies as Area 51, explained Business Insider. No one knows what happens in this area and what is produced there.
For decades, Area 51 – a military complex in the Nevada desert – was surrounded by secrets. The fact that the Washington government did not confirm or deny its existence has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories. Only in 2013, thanks to the release of secret documents, was it known – as many suspected – that it was not a research centre for extra-terrestrials, but a field of evidence and training of the American Air Force.
A similar situation happens with a mysterious airline that, according to intelligence experts, has operated since the 1970s from McCarran International Airport. The authorities have not confirmed its existence. It is known as Janet Airlines, and connoisseurs say it is dedicated to transporting government officials and service providers to several Nevada military facilities, including the famed 51 areas.
Top secret
The name Janet is not a recognised official denomination for the airline, but rather the nickname given by those who have investigated it for decades. Janet corresponds to the acronym ‘Just Another Non Existent Terminal’ or ‘Joint Air Network for Employee Transportation’.
This airline would be operated by the AECOM Company at the service of the American Air Force, according to experts. It would have at least six Boeing 737s and a small fleet of Beechcraft aircraft. They have a white colour and a red stripe along the entire fuselage. You can see them taking off and landing at Las Vegas International Airport daily – where they have an exclusive terminal that performs all of their operations.
Those who investigated Janet Airlines say, company employees – including flight attendants and pilots – would receive highly secret security clearance.
Asked by BBC World, US Air Force spokesman Benjamin Newell said that, as with all activities related to the Nevada Training Field, where Area 51 is located, it could not confirm or deny the existence of Janet Airlines or any airline with similar characteristics.
Some activities and operations carried out in the Nevada Training Field, in past and present, are considered to be secret and cannot be discussed, stated Newell. The Air Force spokesman said that in the past there were “contracted flights” from Las Vegas to the Tonopah test facility, also in Nevada, although they do not exist anymore.
Newell said he could not confirm or deny similar flights to other military facilities, such as Area 51.
Nuclear testing
“Janet Airlines combines two aspects of US intelligence which have been little investigated,” said Joseph Fitsanakis, professor of Intelligence and National Security Studies of the Coastal Carolina University of South Carolina.
“On the one hand, there is the logistics aspect. A large part of the intelligence force in the United States can be attributed to the power of its logistics, and I am referring to those who are dedicated to transporting personnel, making communications secure or install safe houses all over the world.”
According to Fitsanakis, “Janet Airlines is part of the logistics infrastructure of US intelligence services.” In his opinion, “so far, it has not been studied in depth.”
Another interesting aspect of Janet Airlines is that, as far as we know, it has only one mission, which is to transport personnel from the Las Vegas airport to the Nevada test grounds, which are under the supervision of the United States Department of Energy.
“This is because the DOE is in charge of any facility in which to carry out tests with nuclear material,” explained the expert.
Fitsanakis also says that the role of the DOE concerning intelligence tasks, “is very little known compared to other agencies like the CIA and the FBI.”
“The terminal where Janet Airlines operates is always full, and all these people are not just Air Force personnel. Many DOE scientists are transported to the test fields.”
“The DOE works surrounded by secrets, as evidenced by the fact that so little is known about Nevada’s proving grounds, which were under its supervision from the outset, just like the nuclear programs.”
Currently, according to Fitsanakis, Janet Airlines is likely to transport specialists who work on the dismantling of these weapons to these fields.
Professor Coastal Carolina University says it is “a bit absurd not to recognise the existence of Janet Airlines because everyone knows it exists.” He states, however, that he understands “the need for secrecy concerning logistical intelligence activities and everything related to nuclear facilities.”
Security
Joerg H. Arnu has been investigating Area 51 and Janet Airlines since the 1990s. He agrees with Fitsanakis, saying that what little is known about the airline is because the authorities do not want to compromise the safety of the passengers it transports.
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“Those who work in Area 51 perform tasks that are considered to be secret, and authorities do not want Janet Airlines to be known[ in order] to prevent, for example, the planes being followed when leaving Las Vegas airport,” says Arnu.
According to the expert, it is possible to see up to six aircraft of the company on the runway of that airport daily.
“We saw them land in the area of Area 51 and follow their movements by radio frequency,” he says.
According to Arnu, two-thirds of about 20 daily flights departing from the terminal are headed for Area 51 and one-third to the Tonopah field. They would carry around 1,500 people daily.
He attributes the little knowledge about Janet Airlines to the fact that those who work for or are transported by the company are under obligation to remain silent.
Will the day come when, as happened with Area 51, the authorities will recognise the existence of this airline?
This fact makes Janet flights even more intriguing, like the rest of their military destinations. It seems that the only way to know what is behind these flights is to be part of their passenger fleet. The only problem for this is that you must have authorisation from secret services.
And what happens in Las Vegas stays in Vegas…
About the author:
Danish Wadhwa is an inbound marketing and HubSpot certified professional with more than nine years of experience in digital marketing. He has worked with various SAAS startups, Cloud solution providers, online education portals, airline flight sites, Microsoft & Google Partners and helped them grow their business.
