Burning Man billionaires get special treatment as they arrive in private jets

With Burning Man underway, some wealthy individuals made their way to Black Rock desert to participate in the festivities.

They arrived in private and chartered planes, touching down at a makeshift airport that sees about 500 takeoffs and landings a day and is a part of the festival’s temporary city. As part of its core initiative, Burning Man strings together a community and home for a fleeting moment in time every year and, apparently, this includes travel depots like an airport.

However, in the end, the city is meant to be eliminated, leaving the land as it was before and seemingly “without a trace” of their inhabitance on it, according to the festival website. This includes the private runway constructed for those wealthy Burners.

In order to ensure the safety of those on the aircrafts and on the ground, volunteers, in part, step into the air traffic control tower and coordinate with the planes and others in the area. Volunteering is a major part of the no-money economy that exists within the bounds of their little city. However, in cases like this, it isn’t always possible and they do call in some professionals who are paid to take lead on the airport.

These professionals come with plenty of experience, including controllers who work at events like the AirVenture Oshkosh which, obviously, sees heavy air traffic. A spokesperson for the Burning Man Project told Business Insider: “Burning Man hires a crew of five professional air traffic controllers who are the best in the world.”

The desert landing is unique given its temporary nature, but the Burning Man Project ensures that the airfield is kept up-to-date and safe. The representative added: “The airfield is rolled and watered every night by a small fleet of large trucks to make the surface acceptable for aircraft and reduce dust.”

While arrivals and departures are part of the innate nature of the airport, there are other flights taking place at the festival, too. In fact, according to the rep, “scenic flights given for free to Burning Man participants” are relatively common. The free aspect is, yet again, a part of their trade economy.

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