2025 Super Bowl Exodus: Tracking 126 Private Jets Leaving New Orleans

When the confetti settled after Super Bowl LIX on February 9, 2025, we tracked what happened next in the skies above Louisiana. Using publicly available ADS-B data, we visualized the departure of 126 private jets fleeing New Orleans in a six-hour window following the game.

The exodus began at 9:00 PM local time (3:00 AM UTC) and continued through 3:00 AM local (9:00 AM UTC). Most departures clustered between 10:00 PM and midnight, with 44 and 35 aircraft leaving during those hours respectively.

The Numbers

The dataset captures US-registered aircraft only, so the actual total was likely higher when accounting for international registrations. These 126 flights collectively covered 113,707 nautical miles—equivalent to circling the Earth more than five times—and logged 291 hours of flight time. The previous week saw zero departures during the same time window—the Super Bowl created an entirely artificial spike in private aviation activity.

The longest flight we tracked was 2,050 nautical miles, roughly the distance from New Orleans to San Francisco. Aircraft cruised at an average altitude of 22,809 feet, with some reaching as high as 48,550 feet, and maintained average groundspeeds of 354 knots.

The Fleet

The fleet composition reveals the upper echelon of business aviation. Embraer Phenom 300s led with 19 departures, followed by Gulfstream G550s with 17 flights. The aircraft ranged from single-engine Cirrus SF50 Vision Jets to Gulfstream G650ERs, which retail for over $70 million. Gulfstream aircraft dominated overall, accounting for 44 of the 126 flights.

Most aircraft departed from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International (KMSY), which handled 98 departures. Lakefront Airport (KNEW) processed 22 flights, with the remaining departures scattered across Baton Rouge (KBTR), Gulfport (KGPT), and Houma (KHUM).

The visualization captures a layer of Super Bowl logistics invisible to most fans—a parallel infrastructure existing solely to move high-net-worth individuals in and out of the city on their own schedules, requiring precise coordination to handle 126 flights across five airports in just six hours.