FACT CHECK: Do These Images Show Dozens Of Jets Parked In Switzerland For The 2022 World Economic Forum Meeting?

An image shared on Facebook allegedly shows scores of private jets parked at the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Verdict: False

The images included in the post predate the current meeting. One image was taken in Las Vegas in 2015 before a boxing match while the other was taken during a WEF meeting in 2016.

Fact Check:

The WEF is holding its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland from May 22-26, according to the organization‘s website. This year’s meeting, themed “History at a Turning Point: Government Policies and Business Strategies,” is expected to be attended by about 2,500 people, the website reports.

An image shared on Facebook claims to show two images from the event, both showing dozens of private planes parked on runways. “In case you were wondering, this is what the parking lot at the Davos 2022 Climate Change conference looks like,” reads the image’s caption.

Both photos predate the current WEF meeting. A reverse image search revealed the first photo was shared on Twitter in May 2015 by WBZ sports reporter Levan Reid with a caption stating it was taken in Las Vegas.

The amount of private jets at the Las Vegas airport is out of hand. @MayweathervsPac pic.twitter.com/sChygYt0PW

— Levan Reid (@LevanReid) May 3, 2015

“The amount of private jets at the Las Vegas airport is out of hand. @MayweathervsPac,” the caption reads. The photo appeared in articles published by the Daily Mail and the Mirror, both of which reported on a large backlog of private jets trying to leave Las Vegas following a boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao that year. (RELATED: Does This Image Show Dozens Of Private Jets At The UN’s COP26?)

The second photo was originally captured by Reuters photographer Arnd Wiegmann in January 2016. “Passenger jets are parked at the Swiss Airforce base in Duebendorf, Switzerland January 21, 2016,” reads the photo’s description, which goes on to explain the airport was being used for arrivals and departures of WEF attendees for a Davos meeting that year.

This is not the first time a tarmac filled with jets has been falsely linked to a summit of global leaders. Check Your Fact previously debunked an image from June 2021 that purportedly showed multiple jets lining a runway ahead of a G7 meeting in the U.K.