Oprah Winfrey flies to New Orleans the week of her Maui wildfire relief event

Oprah Winfrey flew from Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport to a point near New Orleans on May 13, 2026, a 1-hour-8-minute hop in her Gulfstream G700, N540W. The brief trip follows a multi-day swing through New Jersey, North Carolina, and Arkansas earlier in the week.

The arrival lands Oprah Winfrey in the Gulf South the same week she is scheduled to host a major fundraising gala for Maui wildfire relief in New Orleans, per event listings tracked by local media. The gala, organized through her foundation, aims to raise additional funds for long-term housing and community rebuilding in Lahaina — a cause she has personally championed since the 2023 fires.

The flight is a short reposition from a longer journey; her previous legs included stops in Teterboro, Raleigh-Durham, and Wilmington, North Carolina, before the Arkansas layover. The Santa Barbara-based mogul has made the Maui recovery effort a central focus of her philanthropy in 2025 and 2026, and the New Orleans event represents a strategic push to engage East Coast donors.