Mile High Club
Masters 2024: A mind-boggling reminder of how many private jets flood Augusta airport during Masters week
Let’s just get this out of the way right from the top: Augusta Regional Airport ain’t JFK. It’s got two runways, a small terminal, and for much of the year, serves two airlines with flights to four cities. One week every April, however, AGS becomes a bonafide Heathrow, more than doubling its destinations while seeing the passenger totals jump from a mere 5,000 people on a normal week to over 30,000. One of the main reasons for that increase during Masters week are private jets from all over the world, totaling more than 1,500 arrivals from Monday to Sunday. That can't possibly make that much of a difference, right? Wrong.
Obviously some years are crazier than others. The video above was from 2022, when full capacity galleries were back for the first time since spring 2019. Tiger Woods also made his return from the 2021 car accident that nearly took his life and leg. 2023 was arguably even more jam-packed, with many of the runways turned into makeshift private-jet parking lots.
How does a tiny little blip in American air travel like Augusta airport accommodate such an influx of traffic, not to mention the highly specific needs of high-rollers, each April? Well, each Masters week they reportedly hire 100 new employees and truck in over 500,000 gallons worth of fuel to keep everything running smoothly. Needless to say, if the tournament keeps growing like it has—an ever-expanding juggernaut of branding and sports—little AGS could soon give JFK a run for its money.
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