Fed-up residents of a California city says private jets owned by celebrities and the mega rich are causing misery by flying into their community’s airport day and night to use it as a ‘parking lot’.
Frustrated locals in Camarillo claim planes belonging to A-listers and the uber-wealthy – like Kylie Jenner, Jay-Z, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk – are a huge disruption.
Jenner, for example, has reportedly used the aiport in January for a 15-minute flight to and from Los Angeles.
Now they are on a mission to make their complaints known and stem the disruptiuon they say has turned their lives upside down.
They say the ear-splitting howl from the low-flying planes using the city’s small airport is a constant nuisance – and the problem may only get worse.
‘They fly all day and all night,’ Renee Hatcher tells DailyMail.com. ‘The noise is really disruptive. You can hear them coming from miles away.
‘These planes coming in are enormous. Our community is being impacted. We just want to live our lives and it’s difficult to not be upset when it’s Wednesday night and you’ve been woken three times by jets flying in.
‘It’s like an alarm clock going off – except at 90 decibels. They rattle windows, they rattle things on your wall.
Fed-up residents of Camarillo, California, says private jets owned by celebrities and the mega rich are causing misery day and night by flying into their community’s airport and using it as a ‘parking lot’
‘It’s like a freight train coming down on your house. It gets your adrenaline running. Being jolted awake like that – it’s not something you just rollover and go back to sleep from.
‘It impacts every little thing of your lives. Just making a meal, you’re having to pause your life.
‘You’re trying to make dinner and you can’t hold a conversation as the jets are passing over and you end up screaming.’
Camarillo has a population of 69,500 and lies 45 miles west of Beverly Hills in Ventura County off the 101 freeway.
It is halfway between the City of Angels and Montecito, the rarified coastal enclave that is home to Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey, Katie Perry and – dare we forget – Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and and Duchess of Sussex, and many more.
Frustrated locals in Camarillo say aircrafts belonging to the uber-wealthy – like billionaire jet-setters Kylie Jenner , Jay-Z, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk – are a huge disruption. Jenner, for example, has reportedly used the aiport in January for a 15-minute flight to and from Los Angeles
Hatcher is one of the founders of Save Our Skies Camarillo which is fighting to curtail the number of private jets using the regional airport.
The grass-roots group made up of locals says the problem is being made much worse by celebrities who frequently use the site to park their multi-million dollar toys at a cheaper location than in a big city.
Pilots will often drop off their A-list passengers at Van Nuys airport, a busy private jet hub closer to LA in the San Fernando Valley.
Some will then almost immediately take off again heading for Camarillo, a short hop away.
‘They’re sometimes flying an empty jet, apart from the crew,’ explains Hatcher. ‘We’re being treated as a parking lot by the owners of these planes.’
‘People not affiliated with our community; they don’t care. It would be different if they’re flying in and doing their business here and living here in the area – at least we’d feel they were part of the community and we could reach out to them.’
She urged ‘any celebrity flying in’ to be ‘conscious of this community.’
Private jets are no longer using Santa Monica airport, located in the LA urban sprawl, and scheduled to close permanently on December 31, 2028 which, says Hatcher, has also resulted in more planes heading to Camarillo. where new hangers are being built to cater for the increased numbers of aircraft.
There are currently over 30 private jet operations per day at Camarillo, but this is forecasted to shortly jump to 140.
‘When that happens I can’t imagine what the skies over Camarillo will be like,’ laments Hatcher.
‘The airport has been a good neighbor for decades. We’ve always known about the small propeller planes.
‘It wasn’t until the jet increase that we started to have concerns.
Below is Kylie Jenner’s jet use from January 1 to January 18
‘These big jets have completely changed the environment and the community here.’
She says the increased number of private planes swarming over the city can lead to significant health issues for residents.
‘There have been studies done that show increased health problems for people who live around airports, not only from the pollutants – lead and other issues that come up from the fuel – but there’s higher instances of hypertension and other heart issues.
‘It is stressful to be woke up in the middle of the night and always anticipating the next plane roaring overhead. It’s hypertension and other heart issues.’
Hatcher, 57, says the number of jets using Camarillo has been growing for years but took off during the Covid pandemic. She also says she understands why it is often impractical for popular superstars – such as Jenner – to use LA’s major airport, LAX.
Wealthy people and celebrities didn’t want to fly commercial because of health issues and other concerns,’ she said.
‘I do understand it is difficult for these high-level celebrities to be flying out of LAX.
‘But surely Kylie Jenner can limit her private jet travel. She doesn’t need to be flying in (to Camarillo) in the middle of the night.
‘Do you need to be going back and forth to New York all the time?’
Camarillo, nestled in a coastal plain between the beach and mountains, is surrounded by agricultural fields and boasts a popular outlet shopping mall.
S.O.S Camarillo says the celebrities, wealthy individuals and corporations with their own jets are benefiting from using the airport and causing a disturbance – without bringing much, if any, benefit to the city.
‘Kim Kardashian is not getting off in Camarillo and going to the outlets and buying purses,’ comments Kyle Johnson, another member of S.O.S Camarillo.
‘If she went to the outlets there would be a scene – we would all know about it.’
An aeronautical engineer, Johnson, 38, adds, ‘When Jay–Z’s jet lands he’s not getting breakfast there.’
Members of the group are able to track in real time which celebrity jets are using the airport by using apps such as FlightAware.
A post on Instagram last month by SOS Camarillo, said to be of Kylie Jenner’s plane, shows a jet roaring over rooftops.
DailyMail.com has not independtly confirmed if it was Jenner’s jet.
The comment reads, ‘Do you have to adjust your sound? Sadly those of us in the flight path don’t have that luxury.
‘That was recorded on Sunday January 19 around 4pm when Kylie Jenner’s private jet arrived at Camarillo airport after a quick stop in Van Nuys. Likely dropping her off and then roaring over our community to come park here.@kyliejenner please consider the impact you’re making and how you’re hurting others.
‘The residents of Camarillo deserve better than to just be an afterthought, a place that is passed over to get to private jet parking.’
The cosmetics mogul purchased her Bombardier Global Express, with a custom interior, for $72.8 million in 2020.
Another post from October 29 last year showed data that tracked Jenner’s jet read, ‘Time to wake up an entire community Kylie Jenner’s 12:15am arrival at Camarillo Airport. Hey Kylie – you can do better!’
The same post tagged Jenner, adding, ‘It would be so easy for your jet to pass over vacant farmland to the west instead of over community – especially when you’re showing up in the middle of the night! Give it a try! Show some consideration!’
In post on December 30 last year, accompanied with a video clip said to be of Jay-Z’s plane on the flight path into Camarillo at night, said, ‘Happy Holidays to our peaceful neighborhood from Jay-Z’s private jet!
say the ear-splitting howl from the low-flying planes using the city’s small airport is a constant nuisance – and the problem may only get worse
Camarillo has a population of 69,500 and lies 45 miles west of Beverly Hills in Ventura County off the 101 freeway. There is a plan to allow more flights to use the runway
‘Not very nice of Jay-Z to roar into the Camarillo airport without any consideration of the Community. Gonna end up on the naughty list for sure.’
S.O.S Camarillo would like the Federal Aviation Authority to implement new flight paths over farmland and for jets to use a steeper descent into the airport so they stay higher for longer, rather than cruising over the city.
It would also like a curfew so planes can’t land after a certain time at night.
There is currently a curfew for departures from midnight to 5am but it is ‘violated a lot,’ says Hatcher, and they only receive a warning letter from authorities with no financial penalty.
Hatcher adds that change could take a long time, adding, ‘The FAA is understaffed and we don’t have an experienced director in place.’
DailyMail.com contacted Kylie Jenner’s representatives for comment.
