The Dutch city of Maastricht, just next to the Belgian border, plays host each year to the Davos of the art world, the European Fine Arts Fair. The annual March show, often simply called Tefaf, sells about $1 billion worth of ­museum-quality art and antiquities, including work by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Van Gogh. Art world V.I.P.'s like Ari Kopelman, Henry Kravitz, and Ronald Lauder pop into town for the black-tie collectors' preview or the ­opening-night champagne fest, but there's not a great deal else to do in the sleepy ancient hamlet, so they slip away pretty fast.

All those private jets test the limits of tiny Maastricht Aachen Airport, which typically sees about 350,000 passengers a year (compared with nearby Amsterdam Schiphol's 56 million). Last year, 150 private planes landed on the town's single airstrip in the fair's first two days, according to airport spokesman Mark Keulers; and Aachen managers expect more for 2008. (Kassel, the diminutive airport that serves the Documenta Fair in Germany, handles about 25 percent fewer flights.)

"Tefaf is increasing in popularity, and people are using private charter companies more and more," says Keulers. "It's a worldwide audience that's landing here, and these days they're from new economies like Russia and ­China."

This year, during the fair days (March 7 to 16), Aachen is ­tripling its operational staff, to 60, to handle the influx of McDonnell Douglas DC-10s, Boeing 737's, and last year's runway star, the ­Avanti, a twin-engine turboprop by ­Piaggio.

Managers are suspending the usual rules to allow cars onto the tarmac so that V.I.P.'s can go door-to-door from their jet to the fair. They are opening a special lounge with gourmet catering so pilots can snack while their bosses shop.

To get to Tefaf, about 15 minutes away from the airport, some visitors take free Phaeton sedans, provided by Volkswagen. (Drivers and cars are imported from Germany.) And to ease traffic, the city allows taxis and limos to drive in the bus lane, which is otherwise off-limits to cars.

The taxi service of choice is Brull's, which last year ferried visitors, including actor Brad Pitt. Unfortunately, it may be too late to reserve for 2008. The company puts an additional 20 cars into service during Tefaf, but according to Brull's sales manager, Bianca Boshuizen, collectors and museum directors started booking in December.

"We've been doing this for 12 years now, and it's only more every year," she says