Burning Man exodus: Reno airport's busiest days of the year fueled by 'Burners'

More than 70,000 people traveled over the holiday weekend to Nevada's Black Rock Desert, about 100 miles from Reno, to occupy Black Rock City, the temporary town created to host Burning Man, the annual eccentric and offbeat camping event filled with art, music, creative endeavors and all manner of curious activities.

This year's Burning Man theme was, in fact "Curiouser & Curiouser."

Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) serves as the gateway transportation node for about 20,000 of those Burners, as event attendees are called. And each year the arrival and departure of the Burners represents the busiest travel days for the airport.

The Burners are welcomed to RNO with information tables, tips on shopping for food, supplies and costumes that might be needed at Burning Man and directions to the Burner Express Bus.

And when the Burners leave Black Rock City and head home through RNO, they arrive with memories, of course, but also with many layers of dirt and dust from the desert, garbage – the event is 'Leave No Trace' with no trash cans – and all manner of no-longer-wanted clothing, costumes, food and gear.

After years of hosting departing Burners, RNO airport officials have seen it all. And they have the routine down.

"Each year brings new challenges like weather or our construction projects simultaneously taking place," said RNO airport spokesperson Nicolle Staten. But she says the airport has honed its adaptability and found innovative ways to protect its equipment, keep the airport clean, and minimize disruptions for both Burners and for non-Burner passengers.

There's a Burning Man Festival Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on the RNO website to answer queries such as "Can I shower at the airport?" (Short answer: no), "Does the airport have luggage storage," (Short answer: "No") and "Will the rental car company charge a cleaning fee?" (Short answer: Yes, if there's desert dust outside or inside the vehicle).

And on Monday, as thousands of tired, dirty, dusty Burners arrived at the airport RNO airort welcomed them with construction site-sized dumpsters to collect garbage, transparent plastic bags to wrap dusty luggage to protect baggage equipment and paper booties to cover dirty shoes and boots in hopes of keeping RNO's floors clean.

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Many Burners bring, buy or borrow bicycles so that they can make their way around the 7-square-mile Black Rock City site. And when the event is over, they can't or don't want to bring the dirty, dusty and decorated bikes home. To keep those bikes out of the landfills, RNO set up a bike corral to accept donated bikes on behalf of the non-profit Reno Bike Project, which refurbishes the bikes and then donates them to community organizations.

There was also a Burner Gear Giveback site to collect camping gear, hygiene products, food and other supplies to be donated to unhoused people in the community.

Inside the airport, departing Burners could visit and cuddle with therapy dogs from RNO's Paws 4 Passengers team.

Burners could also visit RNO's depARTures Gallery, in the C Concourse Connector, to peruse an exhibit titled "Beyond Blackrock: A Global Burning Man Showcase," featuring artifacts, ephemera, artwork and maps from five other Burning Man events from around the world, including New Zealand's Kiwiburn, Washington D.C.'s Catharsis on the Mall, South Africa's AfrikaBurn, Argentina's Fuego Austral and Burning Flipside and Freezerburn in Texas.

Midday on Monday, Staten told TPG that operations at RNO were "pretty chill and tame." Burners were being respectful and not showering in the restrooms, she said, and generally honoring all the airport's requests and paying attention to posted notices.

That includes the signs reading "Too much skin is not a win" which Staten says are designed to alert Burners to airline regulations about clothing and are, she acknowledges, "an unusual reminder" to see at an airport.

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