The airline's aircraft are generally unmarked aside from a red cheatline along the aircraft's windows.
History
The fleet's "Janet" call sign is said to stand for "Just Another Non-Existent Terminal"[3][4] or "Joint Air Network for Employee Transportation".[5]
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.[6] Boeing 737-200s were gradually added to the Janet fleet in that same decade, and were later supplemented by Air Force T-43s de-modified to conventional transport configurations.[7][8]
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.[9]
Due to the airline's secretive nature, little is known about its organization. It is presently operated for the USAF by infrastructure and defense contractorAmentum 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.[6][10] For example, in 2010, URS announced it would be hiring Boeing 737 flight attendants to be based in Las Vegas, requiring applicants to undergo a Single Scope Background Investigation in order to be able to obtain a security clearance.[10][11]
Janet flights operate with a three-digit flight number and a WWW-prefix.[13] In the official publication of ICAO airline codes, this specific three-letter designator is listed as being blocked.[14] 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".[citation needed]
Destination codes
Due to its secrecy, Janet Airlines uses special codes for its destinations.[15] KTKM[further explanation needed] is not an ICAO code for an airport, but is used for Area 51. Not all codes are known, but the following are listed:
All Janet 737-600 aircraft were acquired from Air China, and four were previously operated by the now-defunct China Southwest Airlines before being acquired for US Air Force operations starting in 2008. The aircraft were initially taken to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base before being transferred to Las Vegas.[19]
During approach, the pilot reported runway-in-sight, and entered a circle pattern. The pilot then became incapacitated due to sudden cardiac arrest. 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.
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