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Private jets are flocking to a small regional airport for The Masters, the billionaires’ favorite golf tournament

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As The Masters teed off on Thursday at the rarefied Augusta National Golf Club, at the small regional airport 11 miles away, hundreds of private jets were undertaking their annual pilgrimage to the billionaires’ favorite golf tournament.

On Thursday, nearly 300 aircraft arrived at the Augusta Regional Airport, about five times the typical number of arrivals and departures combined, according to data from FlightAware.

The aircraft, many registered to charter and fractional ownership companies like NetJets and VistaJet, came from tony locations, such as Palm Beach, Florida, and Hilton Head, South Carolina.

To prepare for the influx this year, the airport, which charges as much as $4,000 per aircraft to land, hired additional staff, increased the number of fuel trucks, and expanded aircraft parking, according to a letter sent to aircraft operators.

“It’s organized chaos to us,” Lauren Smith, the Augusta Regional’s assistant director of marketing and public relations, told Business Insider ahead of last year’s tournament, during which third-party flight tracking data showed more than 2,100 private flights flying in and out of the airport.

The Masters, along with the Super Bowl and Formula 1 races, is one of the biggest events of the year for private jet operators, who use the golf tournament to market and mingle with their wealthy clientele.

NetJets hosts an annual party with A-list entertainment, and Wheels Up, which booked over 150 flights to and from the tournament last year, opens a clubhouse for its members, where golf personalities record live podcasts and a fashion illustrator captures guests’ outfits.

VistaJet rents a private home nearby and hosts its members for programming, including dinners, live entertainment, and visits from golf insiders.

“We give them something they never want to get rid of,” Matteo Atti, the chief marketing officer of VistaJet’s parent company, Vista Global, told Business Insider of his company’s membership perks last year.

The Masters is a premier event on the billionaire social calendar. In past years, the jets of Nike CEO Phil Knight and investor Herbert Allen Jr. have made the trip.

While official tickets to the Masters, given out through a lottery system, are relatively inexpensive — $160 per day, at most — they are hard to come by. Though the tournament prohibits reselling tickets, they are available on resale sites, where they cost exponentially more. In the days leading up to the event, resale passes were going for upward of $50,000.

Once you’re through the door, though, rest assured that your food won’t cost much. The price of the tournament’s famous pimento cheese sandwich hasn’t budged in years: $1.50.




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TSA delays: Which airports have long lines, and how to check the wait time at your airport

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TSA checkpoints at US airports continue to face pressure amid an ongoing partial government shutdown that is now nearly a month old.

Numerous airports are telling passengers to allow longer than usual to clear security, as staff shortages cause more congestion and longer lines.

On Friday, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport told travelers to arrive up to three hours before their flight. Photos and videos shared by travelers online showed lines stretching from the terminal building into the parking lot.

Ava Brendgord, a reporter for local NBC affiliate, KXAN News, shared a video of the line snaking out of the building at around 5 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

By 7 a.m., lines had returned to more normal levels, local news outlets reported.

Similar scenes played out at many other airports this week, and things could worsen over the weekend as Americans travel for Spring Break and TSA agents face their first $0 paycheck, increasing the likelihood they will skip work.

Though waits were nowhere near the three hours some passengers experienced at Houston Hobby Airport last weekend, there was significant congestion at some airports on Friday morning. One Business Insider employee traveling from LaGuardia saw a lengthy line, and at JFK, wait times exceeded 20 minutes at most TSA screening points.

Atlanta Airport, the world’s busiest by passenger numbers, said it expects to serve 250,000 travelers this weekend, and advised people to arrive three hours early.

How to check wait times


Travelers wait in line at New York's LaGuardia airport.

Travelers wait in line at New York’s LaGuardia airport.

Cadie Thompson/Business Insider



The easiest way to avoid the stress of missing your flight is to arrive as early as you can. Many airports are advising travelers this week to arrive up to three hours before their flight.

To check TSA wait times, many airports, including major hubs like Atlanta, Houston, JFK, Newark, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Denver, post them live on their websites.

These can also provide more specific insights. For example, DFW’s website shows the wait times at each checkpoint.

You can also use the MyTSA mobile app. It provides estimated wait times in 15-minute intervals based on average checkpoint data. The app, however, will use historical data if the live data cannot be retrieved. The TSA also says it is not “actively” managing its sites during the partial shutdown, and so the app may not always be updated.




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Travelers are waiting hours at airport security as unpaid TSA agents stop showing up for work

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You might not think it possible, but waiting in line at airport security is somehow getting worse.

Thousands of travelers in the US waited up to three hours at security checkpoints on Sunday as the ongoing partial government shutdown caused staff shortages at the Transportation Security Administration.

Some stalled travelers shared photos of the winding lines and crowds on social media. A video shared on X by Aubry Killion, an anchor at WDSU, the primary NBC affiliate in New Orleans, showed a line of passengers stretching all the way out into the parking garage.

A photo shared to Reddit showed a massive crowd at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, where wait times have reached an hour. The airport is also encouraging travelers to arrive early for their flights.

“The delays are the result of residual impacts from two ground stops issued on Friday, which created a temporary backlog in passenger volumes, combined with current TSA staffing constraints,” a Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport spokesperson told Business Insider.

Houston Airports, which operates the William P. Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental airports in Texas, warned travelers that the wait times could be hours long.

“As a result of the partial federal government shutdown, passengers at William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) should arrive at least 4 to 5 hours before their flight to allow extra time for TSA screening,” the operator said in a press release. “At times, TSA wait times at HOU may extend beyond 180 minutes.”

Houston Airports said TSA PreCheck may be unavailable at William P. Hobby Airport due to limited staffing. At George Bush Intercontinental Airport, travelers were told to allow extra time for security screening.

The Department of Homeland Security last month said it was suspending TSA Precheck and Global Entry due to the government shutdown, but later backtracked, leaving it up to individual airports.

Lauren Bis, deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, said TSA agents “received only partial paychecks earlier this month and now face their first full missed paycheck, leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages.”

TSA agents are federal workers under DHS, which means they are directly affected by the partial shutdown that began in January. During the earlier 43-day government shutdown last year, TSA agents went weeks without pay. A shortage of air traffic controllers at airports in 2025 played a significant role in forcing the government to reach an agreement.

The US Congress failed to reach an agreement to fund DHS in February, in part because Democrats demanded changes to how the department enforces immigration law.

The long waits affected several major airports across the United States. The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Louisiana also told travelers to arrive early.

“Due to impacts from the federal government’s partial shutdown, the TSA is experiencing a shortage of workers at the security checkpoint, which is causing longer-than-average lines,” the airport wrote on X. “Passengers with travel scheduled today are advised to arrive at least 3 hours before their scheduled departure to allow plenty of time to undergo security screening.”

Security checkpoints at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina are about a 50-minute wait.




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Passengers evacuated Dubai airport after it was hit with a missile

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  • Dubai International Airport was damaged in an attack on Saturday.
  • The airport said four staff members sustained injuries.
  • A passenger told Business Insider they’d received a missile warning before the incident.

One of the world’s busiest airports was just evacuated after a suspected air strike.

Dubai International Airport (DXB) said that the airport had “sustained minor damage in an incident, which was quickly contained.”

Videos online show debris on the ground and smoke filling the terminal as travelers rush to the exits. Others show emergency vehicles on site.

“Four staff sustained injuries and received prompt medical attention,” the airport said. “Due to contingency plans already in place, most of the terminals were previously cleared of passengers.”

The airport said more updates will be provided “as they become available.” It’s unclear if there were other injuries.

The attack came as Iran continues to send missiles across the Middle East in response to joint US-Israel strikes on Saturday, which Trump said had killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Dubai’s other airport, Dubai World Center — Al Maktoum International (DWC), said its operations were suspended until further notice and told passengers not to go to the airport.

Kuwait’s Public Authority for Civil Aviation said a drone hit Kuwait International Airport earlier Saturday, causing injuries and damage. It added that the site was secure as the airport assessed the damage and needed repairs. It’s unclear if it was an Iranian drone.


Screenshot of alert.

A screenshot of Jaiveer Cheema’s phone showing the alert.

Courtesy of Jaiveer Cheema



Emirates passenger Jaiveer Cheema, who has been stuck in Dubai for hours after his flight was canceled amid the air strikes, told Business Insider that he got an alert on his phone around 12:30 a.m. local time that there was a potential missile threat.

The attack on DXB happened soon after. Cheema was at a hotel by then, but said “everyone is taking shelter in the bottom floor of the hotel.”

This is a developing story…




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