If the world’s wealthiest people really do get early warnings about major global events, one programmer thinks their private jets might give the rest of us a clue. A new website is tracking spikes in billionaire and business jet activity, arguing that unusual surges in flights could hint that powerful insiders are quietly fleeing trouble before it becomes public.
The project is called the Apocalypse Early Warning System, created by Los Angeles‑based artist and programmer Kyle McDonald. The idea is blunt but compelling, if the ultra‑rich suddenly take to the skies in unusually high numbers, it may suggest they know something the public does not. The site monitors private aircraft around the world and compares how many are airborne at any given time against historical norms.
Rather than predicting specific disasters, the system assigns an alert level from one to five. A score of one represents normal activity, while a five indicates private jet traffic has surged beyond anything seen in the past year. McDonald stresses this is not a guaranteed doomsday signal, and that holidays, major sporting events, or political summits can also cause sudden spikes.
Even so, the tracker has already flagged moments that raised eyebrows. Its largest spike so far reportedly occurred in early April, coinciding with heightened tensions in the Middle East and fears of wider military escalation. McDonald described the moment as unsettling, suggesting the data briefly felt less like a novelty and more like a genuine warning.
The system relies on publicly available aviation data, including aircraft transponder signals, to identify and monitor thousands of private and business jets. By leaning on open data rather than insider leaks, the site aims to expose patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed amid the noise of global news cycles.
Whether tracking billionaire jets would actually help anyone in a real emergency remains an open question. Still, the project taps into a growing public suspicion that the people with the most power often move first, and quietly, when the stakes are highest.
