Janet

Area 51 was established in 1955 by the Central Intelligence Agency at Groom Lake in Nevada to serve as a secure test site for the Lockheed U-2, a high‑altitude reconnaissance aircraft developed under deep secrecy. The remote desert location allowed engineers and pilots to test the aircraft’s capabilities far from public view. To support operations at Area 51, regular flights were established to transport military and civilian personnel to the site from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

The earliest known Janet flights were operated from 1972 by defense contractor EG&G, which supported the Atomic Energy Commission in the development of nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site. Flights were initially conducted by a single Douglas DC-6B (registration N6583C), which was later joined by a second aircraft in 1976.

According to a former Area 51 employee, the Janet name is said to have originated from Richard "Dick" Sampson, the CIA officer who oversaw Area 51 from 1969 to 1971. Sampson casually assigned his wife's given name as the air traffic control call sign for the flights. The nickname stuck, and Janet eventually became the informal name for the entire operation. Other theories surmise that Janet is an acronym for "Just Another Non-Existent Terminal" or "Joint Air Network for Employee Transportation".

The 1980s saw the expansion of the fleet with the introduction of the Boeing 737-200, a first generation variant of the airliner. Three aircraft were delivered in 1980, which allowed the two DC-6B to be retired in 1981. A further 737 was delivered in 1983 and three more in 1984, one of which left the fleet in 1986.

The fleet was later supplemented by Air Force T-43s de-modified to conventional transport configurations.

In November 2023, it was reported the U.S. Air Force was looking for a new civilian contractor to operate the Janet fleet. Their solicitation specified that a potential new operator would have to operate up to 190 flights per week.

Operations

Due to the airline's secretive nature, little is known about its organization. As of January 2023, it is 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. 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.

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 with 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 often changes, and the number will be the last 2 digits of the flight number plus 15. For example, a flight originating with callsign Janet 412 would be given a callsign similar to Bunny 27 when transferred to Groom Lake control.

Destination codes

Janet Airlines uses special codes for its destinations. Even the location identifier frequently used as a destination or departure field - TKM (or KTKM internationally) - is not an ICAO code for an airport, but is likely used for Area 51. This location identifier is listed as a tie-in facility for "Tonopah Test Range Base Ops" in FAA documentation as recently as 2020. Not all destination codes are known, but the following are listed: