This paper explores a novel dataset on daily arrivals and departures of a small aerodrome in Santiago de Chile, one of the most unequal countries in the world. It particularly shows how elites were able to bypass lockdown policies aimed to restrict mobility during the pandemic using a small aerodrome located in the heart of the richest municipalities in Santiago. While most Chileans were under heavy lockdown policies, economic elites were able to travel during weekends to their vacation houses and cottages located in other parts of the country. While the Chilean state deployed with some degree of success both the army and police members throughout its territory, it was not able to control air traffic (strictly used by the elites). These findings go in line with the recent ``politics of weakness'' literature. In fact, this paper shows how local authorities faced high political pressures to systematically ignore overseeing traffic control policies during the pandemic. The paper exploits a novel dataset, time-series methods, regression discontinuity designs and key informant interviews.