Private planes halted at Burning Man’s volunteer-run airport as a storm rips through the Playa

The private plane and charter jets shepherding passengers to Black Rock City, Nevada — the home of Burning Man — have all been grounded after a storm ripped through the desert.

Nearly 100 aircraft landed in the Playa before the operations at 88NV, the Black Rock Municipal Airport, screeched to a halt on Sunday evening. Since then, an air ambulance was the only plane to land.

In a typical year, the airport in the middle of the desert says it transforms into one of the country’s 100 busiest, seemingly overnight. But, as of Monday morning, it remained closed following a storm that brought rain and intense winds to the Playa. The airport anticipated opening midday, though precipitation remains in the forecast over the next few days.

During 2023’s infamously wet Burning Man, a plane was grounded for weeks after it was damaged due to the muddy conditions, according to the airport’s 88NV Pilot Survival Guide.

Built about a mile and a half from the center of Black Rock City, the airport supports the traffic flying in and out for the music and arts festival that has become a must-attend in some of tech’s elite circles.

Individual and charter flights shepherd passengers to the Playa, as does the Burner Express Air, a shuttle service that connects 88NV to Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and nearby Reno. Tickets cost between $900 and $2,400 each way, and the service also offers the option to charter an entire aircraft for up to $18,000 one way. A spokesperson for the Burner Express told Business Insider that demand is up over 20% this year; last year, it served 2,184 passengers, according to the annual AfterBurn report.

How volunteers build an airport from the dust

While, on face value, private air travel may not seem in line with some of Burning Man’s core principles — such as decommodification and leave no trace — the airport, like most other things at the festival, is almost entirely operated by nearly 400 volunteers. Planes have been flying to the Playa since the festival moved there in 1991, though it wasn’t until 2010 that the airport was given the official identifier 88NV, and most of the planes that come through have nothing to do with billionaire Burners.

Work on the airport begins in May, when volunteers take stock of and test equipment.

“The familiar sensation of playa dust boogers forming in my nose is making me positively antsy,” the airport’s leader, Simon Miller, who goes by Trash Dad, wrote in his newsletter that month. “I can’t wait to see your dusty faces!”

In the week leading up to the August festival, volunteers construct a makeshift tarmac, control tower, terminal — complete with a waiting area and gate — and windsock. The website warns passengers not to expect anything “cushy.”

“There are no vending machines, ticket counters, wastebaskets, or taxi cabs here,” it says.

Once the airport is open, the volunteers man the radio, document arrivals, and run a faux customs station for more than 12 hours each day. Volunteer pilots spend the days taking Burners on scenic flights that offer aerial views of the Playa. Overnight, many of them crash at one of the airport’s two theme camps, Black Rock Travel Agency and Flybynyte.

Considering the airport is nearly entirely run by volunteers, it has a pretty good safety record. There have been about 10 accidents since 2002, according to the 88NV Pilot Survival Guide. Only one fatal accident has occurred, when a plane stalled midair.

In the three to four days following the event, volunteers take the whole thing down. Their last job? Leaving “nothing more than dust.” Or, in this year’s case, mud.

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