View source for Van Nuys Airport

{{Short description|Airport in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox airport
| name                = Van Nuys Airport
| nativename          = 
| nativename-a        = 
| nativename-r        = 
| image               = Logo Van Nuys Airport.svg
| image-width         = 155px
| caption             = 
| image2              = KVNY2021.jpg
| image2-width        = 
| caption2            = Aerial view of Van Nuys Airport in 2021.
| IATA                = VNY
| ICAO                = KVNY
| FAA                 = VNY
| type                = Public
| owner               = [[Government of Los Angeles|City of Los Angeles]]
| operator            = [[Los Angeles World Airports]]
| city-served         = [[Greater Los Angeles]]
| location            = [[Van Nuys, California|Van Nuys]], [[California]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| opened              = {{start date and age|1928|12|17}}
| operating_base      = [[Aero (American airline)|Aero]]
| elevation-f         = 802
| elevation-m         = 244
| metric-elev         = yes
| coordinates         = {{coord|34|12|35|N|118|29|24|W|region:US-CA|display=inline,title}}
| website             = {{URL|https://www.iflyvny.com/|iflyvny.com}}
| image_map           = VNY - FAA Airport Diagram.svg
| 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 concrete|Asphalt]]
| r2-number           = 16L/34R
| r2-length-f         = 4,013
| r2-length-m         = 1,223
| r2-surface          = Asphalt
| metric-rwy          = yes
| stat1-header        = Aircraft operations (2020)
| stat1-data          = 232,000<ref name="Aircraft Operations">{{Cite web |title=History of Aircraft Operations |url=https://www.iflyvny.com/news-and-facts/statistics/history-of-aircraft-operations |access-date=2021-10-15 |website=www.iflyvny.com |archive-date=2021-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015212636/https://www.iflyvny.com/news-and-facts/statistics/history-of-aircraft-operations |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| stat2-header        = Economic impact (2015)
| stat2-data          = {{US$|2 billion|link=yes}}<ref name="VNY Economic Impact Report">{{Cite report |url=https://www.iflyvny.com/-/media/iflyvny/vny-news-and-facts/files/vny-eia-final.ashx |title=Van Nuys Airport Economic Impact Study |last1=Cooper |first1=Dr. Christine |last2=Mitra |first2=Dr. Somjita |date=November 2016 |publisher=[[Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation]] Institute for Applied Economics }}</ref>
| stat3-header        = Social impact (2015)
| stat3-data          = 10,480 jobs<ref name="VNY Economic Impact Report" />
| footnotes           = 
}}

'''Van Nuys Airport''' {{airport codes|VNY|KVNY|VNY}} is a public [[airport]] in the [[Van Nuys, Los Angeles|Van Nuys]] neighborhood of the [[Los Angeles|City of Los Angeles]]. The airport is operated by [[Los Angeles World Airports]] (LAWA), a branch of the [[Government of Los Angeles|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 [[runway]]s averaging over 230,000 takeoffs and landings annually.

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 (bus)|FlyAway]] terminal, where passengers bound for LAX can park and board buses that run nonstop between Van Nuys and LAX.

Van Nuys Airport has multiple noise abatement policies and strategies which includes awarding jet operators with the Friendly Flyer Award for reduced noise.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Van Nuys Airport Recognizes Users for Quiet Jet Ops {{!}} AIN |author=Aidan Lau |work=Aviation International News |date=30 June 2022 |access-date=19 March 2025 |url= https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2022-06-30/van-nuys-airport-recognizes-users-quiet-jet-ops}}</ref>

==History==
Van Nuys Airport opened on December 17, 1928, the 25th anniversary of the [[Wright Flyer|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 (film)|Casablanca]].<ref name="History Pt. 1">{{Cite web |title=VNY Airport History, Part 1 |url=https://www.iflyvny.com/news-and-facts/history |access-date=2021-10-15 |website=www.iflyvny.com |archive-date=2020-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921024039/https://www.iflyvny.com/news-and-facts/history |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name="History Pt. 1" />

In 1949, after the war, the [[Government of Los Angeles|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.<ref name="History Pt. 1" />

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 {{Convert|8001|ft}}. 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.<ref name="History Pt. 1" />

In 1975, the Los Angeles Department of Airports (today  [[Los Angeles World Airports]]) built the [[FlyAway (bus)|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 {{Convert|20|mi|adj=on}} trip to LAX, helping to alleviate freeway and LAX parking congestion.<ref name="History Pt. 2">{{Cite web |title=VNY Airport History, Part 2 |url=https://www.iflyvny.com/news-and-facts/history2 |access-date=2021-10-15 |website=www.iflyvny.com |archive-date=2021-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015224648/https://www.iflyvny.com/news-and-facts/history2 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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, California|Oxnard]]. In 1994, the now-vacated National Guard buildings became a critical operating site for the [[American Red Cross]] helping victims of the devastating [[1994 Northridge earthquake|Northridge earthquake]]. In the early 2000s, the facility was converted into air operations and helicopter maintenance facilities for the Los Angeles Fire Department.<ref name="History Pt. 2" />

In the 2020s Van Nuys remains one of the world's busiest general aviation airports, with 232,000 aircraft operations in 2020.<ref name="Aircraft Operations" /> A 2015 study found that the airport generates {{US$|2 billion|link=yes}} of economic impact and has created 10,480 jobs<ref name="VNY Economic Impact Report" />

== Facilities ==
[[File:Runway 16R, Van Nuys Airport.jpg|thumb|right|Runway 16R, Van Nuys]]
[[File:Van Nuys Airport view from train 2016-05-02 (2).jpg|thumb|Viewed from the rail line to the north]]

Van Nuys Airport covers {{convert|725|acre|ha|0}} and has two [[runway]]s:
[[File:KVNY2022Runways.jpg|thumb|A 2022 aerial view of KVNY Runways (looking south)]]
* 16R/34L: {{convert|8001|x|150|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, [[Asphalt concrete|asphalt]]
* 16L/34R: {{convert|4013|x|75|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}, asphalt

== Airline and destinations ==
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2024}}
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{{Airport destination list
| [[Aero (American airline)|Aero]] | '''Charter:''' [[Aspen/Pitkin County Airport|Aspen]],<ref>{{cite web | title=Visiting Aspen? &#124; Engel & Völkers - Gestalt Group | url=https://portfolioaspen.com/blog/visiting-aspen-fly-with-aero }}</ref> [[Harry Reid International Airport|Las Vegas]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/aero-launches-las-vegas-flights|title=Private jet airline Aero to launch flights between Los Angeles and Las Vegas|publisher=AeroTime|date=October 9, 2024|accessdate=October 26, 2024}}</ref> [[Salt Lake City International Airport|Salt Lake City]],<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://townlift.com/2025/02/aero-announces-exclusive-jet-service-connecting-l-a-and-park-city/|title= Aero announces exclusive jet service connecting L.A. and Park City |website=Town Life|date=February 7, 2025|accessdate=May 24, 2025}}</ref> [[Teterboro Airport|Teterboro]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Aero Technologies Is Cleared For Takeoff |url=https://valley.labusinessjournal.com/featured/aero-technologies-is-cleared-for-takeoff/ |access-date=26 May 2025 |website=Los Angeles Business Journal |date=3 March 2025}}</ref> [[Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport|Thermal]], [[Los Cabos International Airport|San José del Cabo]], [[Friedman Memorial Airport|Sun Valley]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://visitsunvalley.com/services/aero/ |title=Aero - Visit Sun Valley |access-date=2024-10-08 |archive-date=2024-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008232059/https://visitsunvalley.com/services/aero/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> <br /> '''Seasonal charter:''' [[Napa County Airport|Napa]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/article/aero-airline-napa-county-airport/|title=Aero resuming flights to Napa County Airport|work=The North Bay Business Journal |publisher=North Bay Business Journal|date=August 30, 2024|accessdate=November 5, 2024}}</ref>
}}

== Incidents ==
* In the mid 1950s, a single engine airplane that was trying to land at Van Nuys Airport crashed due to severe fog into the roof of a house located at 7807 (approximate address number) Louise Avenue in Northridge.  The home was unoccupied at the time.  The pilot died in the crash.
* On the night of March 26, 2000, a [[KTTV]] news helicopter, "Sky Fox 2", a secondary helicopter that was previously owned by [[KTLA]], crashed at Van Nuys airport after experiencing problems while covering the [[Academy Awards]].
* A [[Cessna CitationJet|Cessna 525 Citation CJ1]] twin-engine jet departing for [[Long Beach Airport]] crashed {{convert|0.5|mi|km|0}} north of the airport on January 12, 2007, killing two people on board. One was reported to be the owner of the company which operated the aircraft.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nbc4.tv/news/10734102/detail.html | title=Two Killed In Van Nuys Jet Crash | publisher=[[KNBC]] | date=2007-01-12 | access-date=2007-01-12 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070115061053/http://www.nbc4.tv/news/10734102/detail.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-01-15}}</ref>
* On November 25, 2008, a [[Cessna 310]] carrying two people experienced [[landing gear]] problems. After burning off fuel, it was able to land on the runway without incident, although its front gear collapsed upon landing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/LIVE-VIDEO-Fire-Crews-Prepare-for-Emergency-Landing-at-Van-Nuys-Airport.html |title=Plane Slides to Stop on Runway |date=25 November 2008 |publisher=NBC Los Angeles |access-date=2008-11-25}}</ref>
* On January 9, 2015, a [[Lancair]] kit aircraft crashed after takeoff just south of the airport at the intersection of Vanowen Street and Hayvenhurst Avenue. The pilot, an experienced flight instructor and [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] robotics engineer, was killed.<ref>{{cite news
 | url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-van-nuys-plane-crash-one-dead-20150109-story.html
 | title= One dead as small plane crashes in street near Van Nuys Airport
 | newspaper= [[Los Angeles Times]]
 | date= 2015-01-09
 | access-date= 2015-01-09
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url        = http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-jpl-scientist-killed-plane-crash-robotics-20150110-story.html
| title      = JPL scientist killed in Van Nuys plane crash aided 'extreme' exploration
| last       = Ryan
| first      = Harriet
| date       = 2014-01-10
| newspaper  = [[Los Angeles Times]]
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150111051744/http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-jpl-scientist-killed-plane-crash-robotics-20150110-story.html
| archive-date= 2015-01-11
}}</ref>
*On September 11, 2020, a small plane crashed into a parking lot on Hayvenhurst Avenue after takeoff, killing both the pilot and passenger.<ref>{{cite news 
| url= https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/09/11/small-plane-crashes-near-van-nuys-airport-killing-2-people/ 
| title=Small Plane Crashes Near Van Nuys Airport, Killing 2 People
}}</ref>

==General aviation==
FBOs:
* [[Castle and Cooke Aviation]]
* [[Clay Lacy Aviation]]
* [[Jet Aviation]]
* [[Signature Flight Support]]

Airport businesses:	
* MP Aero
* HeliNet
* Mather Aviation
* Thorton Aircraft Company

Museums:
* Condor Squadron, flying museum with a fleet of [[North American T-6 Texan|T-6 Texans]] for airshows and flyovers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Condor Squadron Home page |url=https://www.condorsquadron.org/ |website=The Condor Squadron |publisher=Condor Squadron Officer's & Airmen's Association Inc.  |access-date=5 August 2023}}</ref>

==Filming location==
{{more citations needed|date=January 2019}}
Van Nuys Airport has been the location of many film, television, and music video shoots.

===Film===
* Parts of the climactic scene of the film ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' (1942) were filmed at Van Nuys Airport, at the time known as Metropolitan Airport.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-19-me-1361-story.html|title='Casablanca' Filmed Elsewhere : At Burbank Airport, a Myth Is Just a Myth|first=T. W.|last=McGarry|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 19, 1986|access-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref>
* The airport was used for landing the 747 in the film ''[[Executive Decision]]'' (1996), referred to as [[Frederick Municipal Airport (Maryland)|Frederick Field]]
*The dramatic ending of the ''[[film noir]]'' ''[[Armored Car Robbery]]'' (1950) takes place at what was then Los Angeles Metropolitan Airport. Antagonist [[William Talman (actor)|William Talman]] and his burlesque queen girlfriend [[Adele Jergens]] are attempting to escape by chartered airplane. Cornered by Detective [[Charles McGraw]], Talman runs and is killed on the runway by a landing airplane.
*In ''[[One Six Right]]'' (2005), a film documenting the history of Van Nuys Airport, was released. It was named after the most favored runway at the airport.
*A major part of the science fiction motion picture ''[[Silent Running]]'' (1972) was filmed at the Van Nuys Airport in March 1971. The Domes from the spacecraft that contained the last surviving forests were filmed there.

===Television===
*Many television shows have filmed episodes at the airport, including ''[[24 (TV series)|24]]'' (Season 5), ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'', ''[[JAG (TV series)|JAG]]'', ''[[T. J. Hooker]]'', and ''[[Wonder Woman (TV series)|Wonder Woman]]''.
*The 1980s action-espionage series ''[[Airwolf]]'' used the Van Nuys Airport hangars regularly as the site of "Santini Air", the charter air service company owned and operated by [[Ernest Borgnine]]'s character ([[Dominic Santini]]) in the series.
*In the last episode of Season 1 of the [[HBO]] series ''[[Entourage (U.S. TV series)|Entourage]],'' the final scene takes place at Van Nuys Airport, where [[Vincent Chase]] and company take off for [[New York City]]. It was also used in the fourth season when [[Kanye West]] offers the group a plane ride on a [[Marquis Jet]] to [[Cannes]].  In Season 5 episode 7, Chase and [[Ari Gold (Entourage)|Ari Gold]] run into each other in a hangar as each are about to depart on separate flights to [[Geneva, Switzerland]] and [[Hawaii]], respectively. The last episode of season 6, episode 12, is used as a location where Chase and his crew run into [[Matt Damon]] on the way to Italy for a film shoot. In season 8 episode 8, Vince, Johnny and Turtle fly to Paris for Vince's wedding, while Eric and Sloan fly elsewhere and their planes take off at the same time for the finale to the show.

===Music video===
*[[Pat Benatar]]'s music video for "[[Shadows of the Night]]," featuring the Condor Squadron's T-6 Texans
*[[Britney Spears]]'s music video for "[[Stronger (Britney Spears song)|Stronger]]"
*[[Metallica]]'s music video for "[[The Memory Remains]]"
*[[Blink-182]]'s music video for "[[All the Small Things|All The Small Things]]"
*[[Air Supply]]'s first music video for "[[Making Love Out of Nothing at All|Making Love Out of Nothing At All]]"
*[[Kiss (band)|Kiss]]'s music video for "God Gave Rock and Roll To You 2"
*[[Michael Jackson]]'s music video for "Stranger In Moscow" (1996)

==References==
{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}
*{{FAA-airport|ID=VNY|use=PU|own=PU|site=02396.*A}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Van Nuys Airport}}
* {{official website|https://www.iflyvny.com/}}
* [http://www.opennav.com/airport/KVNY openNav: VNY / KVNY charts]
* {{FAA-diagram|00552}}
{{US-airport|VNY}}
*Facebook: [https://www.facebook.com/VNYofficial Van Nuys Airport (VNY)]
*Twitter: [https://twitter.com/VanNuysAirport @VanNuysAirport]
{{Airports Owned by the City of Los Angeles}}
{{Van Nuys, Los Angeles}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Airports in Los Angeles County, California]]
[[Category:Van Nuys, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the San Fernando Valley]]
[[Category:Transportation in the San Fernando Valley]]
[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in North America]]
[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Technical Service Command]]
[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in California]]