Bob Lazar -- JANET Airlines: The Secret Commuter Service
Bob Lazar -- JANET Airlines: The Secret Commuter Service
What JANET Is
JANET is the unofficial name for a classified airline that provides scheduled commuter service between Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport (now Harry Reid International Airport) and various classified installations in Nevada, including Area 51. The name is variously interpreted as standing for "Just Another Non-Existent Terminal" (the popular informal interpretation) or as a classified government identifier.
The existence of JANET was an open secret in the aviation community for decades before it received any official acknowledgment. Aircraft spotters observed the distinctive unmarked white Boeing 737s with red stripes departing from a private terminal at McCarran on regular schedules. Ground workers at McCarran observed the operation. The passengers were civilians and military personnel with appropriate clearances, boarding through a secured area away from regular commercial traffic.
The Fleet and Operations
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Aircraft type | Primarily Boeing 737-600 series; also Boeing 737-200 series historically |
| Distinctive appearance | Unmarked white exterior with a single red stripe along the fuselage; no airline markings, no registration numbers visible to casual observers; tail number registered to obscure corporate entities |
| Terminal | Private, secured terminal at Las Vegas McCarran/Harry Reid International; not accessible to general public |
| Schedule | Regular scheduled departures; historically departing early morning and returning late afternoon/evening to accommodate a full working day at destination |
| Contractor | Originally operated by EG&G (the same contractor Lazar says employed him for S-4); currently operated by AECOM or similar defense contractor |
| Destinations | Primarily Groom Lake (Area 51); also Tonopah Test Range; possibly other classified Nevada facilities |
| Official status | Government has never officially acknowledged JANET, though its existence is widely documented and satellite imagery confirms regular operations at the Area 51 airstrip |
The JANET-Lazar Connection
Lazar's description of being transported to the S-4 facility from the Groom Lake area via bus -- with blacked-out windows or blacked-out glasses -- is consistent with a system in which personnel arrive at Groom Lake via JANET flights and are then transported by ground vehicle to sub-installations. This logistical framework is coherent with what is known about how Groom Lake personnel are transported.
The fact that JANET was operated by EG&G -- the same contractor Lazar says hired him for S-4 -- is also noted by his supporters as a piece of circumstantial corroboration: his description of EG&G as his employer is consistent with EG&G's documented role as the primary contractor operating the classified commuter airline serving Groom Lake.
Scale of Operations
The existence and scale of JANET reveals something important about Area 51: it requires a substantial workforce that commutes daily from Las Vegas. The number of personnel transported by JANET at its operational peak has been estimated at several thousand per day. This is not a tiny research station with a handful of scientists -- it is a major industrial and research operation requiring a workforce comparable to a medium-sized business. This scale is relevant to the S-4 scenario: if there are thousands of people working at Groom Lake, the possibility of a sub-installation at Papoose Lake operated by a small highly-clearanced team is not architecturally implausible.
