| Van Nuys Airport | |
| Iata: | VNY |
| Icao: | KVNY |
| Faa: | VNY |
| Type: | Public |
| Owner: | City of Los Angeles |
| Operator: | Los Angeles World Airports |
| City-Served: | Greater Los Angeles |
| Location: | Van Nuys, California, U.S. |
| Elevation-F: | 802 |
| Elevation-M: | 244 |
| Coordinates: | 34.2097°N -118.49°W |
| Image Map Caption: | FAA airport diagram |
| Pushpin Map: | Los Angeles#USA California#USA#North America |
| Pushpin Label: | VNY |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location |
| R1-Number: | 16R/34L |
| R1-Length-F: | 8,001 |
| R1-Length-M: | 2,439 |
| R1-Surface: | Asphalt |
| R2-Number: | 16L/34R |
| R2-Length-F: | 4,013 |
| R2-Length-M: | 1,223 |
| R2-Surface: | Asphalt |
| Stat1-Header: | Aircraft operations (2020) |
| Stat1-Data: | 232,000[1] |
| Stat2-Header: | Economic impact (2015) |
| Stat2-Data: | [2] |
| Stat3-Header: | Social impact (2015) |
| Stat3-Data: | 10,480 jobs |
Van Nuys Airport is a public airport in the Van Nuys neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles. The airport is operated by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a branch of the Los Angeles city government, which also operates Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Van Nuys is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world, with the airport's two parallel runways averaging over 230,000 takeoffs and landings annually. However, as of 2022, no commercial air service operates to or from Van Nuys.
Van Nuys is home to news, medical transport, and tour helicopter operators, the air operations unit of the Los Angeles City Fire Department, and a maintenance base for Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power helicopters.
Originally opened as Metropolitan Airport on December 17, 1928, the airport became the Van Nuys Army Airfield during World War II, was renamed the San Fernando Valley Airport after the war, before taking its current name in 1957.
The airport is also home to LAWA's FlyAway terminal, where passengers bound for LAX can park and board buses that run nonstop between Van Nuys and LAX.
Van Nuys Airport is also known for implementing multiple noise abatement policies and strategies which includes awarding jet operators with the Friendly Flyer Award for reduced noise.
Van Nuys Airport opened on December 17, 1928, the 25th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight, as Metropolitan Airport. The airfield was run by a small group of citizens who established a corporation. The airport was spread out on 80 acres, surrounded by trees and farmland. The airport was mostly used for general aviation, but also became popular with Hollywood stars of the era, and notably was the filming location of the iconic airport scene in the 1942 film Casablanca.[3] Also notable were the scenes of the reckless flight (and other scenes) of Laurel and Hardy in the 1939 film The Flying Deuces.
In 1942, after the United States entered World War II, the government purchased Metropolitan Airport and converted it into the Van Nuys Army Airfield. The Army also purchased an additional 163 acres of land to expand the runways and airfield. During the war, the airfield was used by the 4th Air Force, which stationed the 428th Fighter Squadron with Lockheed P-38 Lightning aircraft in 1943. In 1944, the 441st Army Air Forces Base Unit was added to train additional pilots for the P-38. Elsewhere on the airfield, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Corporation created an aircraft modification facility known as the Navy Lockheed Plant, just one of several aircraft companies that would become established in the area.
In 1949, after the war, the City of Los Angeles purchased the airport from the War Assets Administration for $1, with the agreement that a California Air National Guard base continue to operate at the site. The name of the airport, which by then covered 400 acres, was changed to San Fernando Valley Airport.
In the 1950s, the California Air National Guard based North American F-86 Sabre jets at the airport and built new permanent facilities. In 1957, the airport's name would change one last time to Van Nuys Airport. In 1959, the Sherman Way underpass was finished, allowing the main runway (16R/34L) to be extended to its current length of . By the end of the decade, Van Nuys was ranked as the 25th busiest airport in the nation in terms of operations, despite having no commercial air service.
In 1975, the Los Angeles Department of Airports (today Los Angeles World Airports) built the FlyAway bus terminal just east of the Van Nuys Airport. The terminal served as a remote parking lot for sister airport, LAX. Passengers would park at Van Nuys and board a bus for a 20miles trip to LAX, helping to alleviate freeway and LAX parking congestion.[4]
The California Air National Guard moved out of Van Nuys in 1990, with the 146th Airlift Wing shifting to Naval Air Station Point Mugu (now Naval Base Ventura County) in Oxnard. In 1994, the now-vacated National Guard buildings became a critical operating site for the American Red Cross helping victims of the devastating Northridge earthquake. In the early 2000s, the facility was converted into air operations and helicopter maintenance facilities for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
In the 2020s Van Nuys remains one of the world's busiest general aviation airports, with 232,000 aircraft operations in 2020. A 2015 study found that the airport generates of economic impact and has created 10,480 jobs
Van Nuys Airport covers 725acres and has two runways:
FBOs:
Airport businesses:
Museums:
Van Nuys Airport has been the location of many film, television, and music video shoots.