Oxnard Airport Ventura County Army Airfield | |||||||||||
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 USGS 2006orthophoto | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | County of Ventura | ||||||||||
| Serves | Oxnard, California | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 45 ft / 14 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°12′03″N119°12′26″W / 34.20083°N 119.20722°W /34.20083; -119.20722 | ||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||
 FAA airport diagram | |||||||||||
  OXR Location of airport in California | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2010) | |||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||
Oxnard Airport (IATA:OXR,ICAO:KOXR,FAALID:OXR) is a county-owned, publicairport a mile west of downtownOxnard, inVentura County, California.[1] The airport has not had scheduled passenger service since June 8, 2010, whenUnited Express (operated via acode sharing agreement withUnited Airlines bySkyWest Airlines) ended flights toLos Angeles International Airport.America West Express also served the airport with nonstop flights to Phoenix in the early-2000s via a code sharing agreement withAmerica West Airlines.[2]
Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 15,961 passenger boardings (enplanements) incalendar year 2008,[3] 12,060 in 2009 and 4,074 in 2010.[4] TheNational Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015called it aprimary commercial service airport based on enplanements in 2008 (over 10,000 per year).[5] By the time of the next NPIAS report, for 2015–2019, Oxnard Airport had been downgraded to a regionalgeneral aviation airport with only 19 enplanements.[6]
Ventura County opened Oxnard Airport in 1934 by clearing a 3,500 ft dirtrunway. In the 1930saviatorHoward Hughes erected a tent at the airport to shelter his famousH-1 monoplane racer, which he tested from the dirt strip.[7] In 1938 Ventura County paved the dirt runway and built a largehangar. In 1939 James McLean opened the Oxnard Flying School with aPiper J-3 Cub and aKinner 2-seat airplane. Housing was built nearby for instructors and students at the school.[8]
In late 1941, the airport was assigned to theU.S. Navy until theNaval Air Station atPoint Mugu could be completed. The Navy moved toNAS Point Mugu in 1945 and the Oxnard Flying School returned to the airport. Ventura County regained control of the airport in 1948, receiving a finalquitclaim deed. The state ofCalifornia issued the airport an operating permit in 1949.
In 2025, AXIS Air began operating at Oxnard Airport as a full-service fixed-base operator (FBO). The company occupies the former Golden West Jet Center facility, continuing the site’s long history of serving general aviation at the airport. AXIS Air provides fueling, aircraft parking, hangar space, and pilot services for a variety of aircraft types. AXIS Air also introduced a notable aviation landmark, hosting a beautifully restored 1945 Douglas DC-3 in its hangar, which has contributed to both the airport’s character and visibility within the aviation community.
Scheduled airline service started in 1946 withSouthwest Airways flyingDouglas DC-3s on a multi-stop route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Southwest then changed its name toPacific Air Lines which in turn began operatingMartin 4-0-4 prop aircraft followed byFairchild F-27 turboprops into the airport. In 1968 Pacific merged withBonanza Air Lines andWest Coast Airlines to formAir West which was subsequently renamedHughes Airwest which in turn continued to serve Oxnard with F-27s. Also in 1968, Cable Commuter Airlines was operatingde Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter service toLAX.[9]
Hughes Airwest ended all service to Oxnard in the early 1970s and was then replaced byGolden West Airlines and other commuter air carriers. Golden West operatedde Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter andShort 330 turboprops nonstop to Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego and Santa Barbara.[10] According to theOfficial Airline Guide (OAG), in the fall of 1979 Golden West was operating shuttle service from LAX to the airport with 15 nonstop flights operated every weekday with Twin Otter commuter turboprops.[11] Other service includedWings West withBeech 99 turboprops to Los Angeles and Desert Pacific Airlines flyingPiper twin prop aircraft nonstop to San Francisco, Sacramento and Las Vegas.[12] By 1980,Golden Gate Airlines was operating nonstop service to Bakersfield, Las Vegas, Monterey, and Santa Barbara with direct service to San Francisco.[13] Also in 1980, Santa Barbara-based Apollo Airways was operating nine nonstop flights every weekday withHandley Page Jetstream commuter propjets from Santa Barbara (SBA) with direct connecting service from Bakersfield (BFL), Fresno (FAT), Las Vegas (LAS), Monterey (MRY), Oakland (OAK), Sacramento (SMF), San Francisco (SFO) and San Jose (SJC) via Santa Barbara.[14] In 1981, two airlines were serving the airport according to theOfficial Airline Guide (OAG): Golden West Airlines with ten nonstop flights every weekday from Los Angeles (LAX) plus two nonstop flights every weekday from San Diego (SAN) primarily flown with Twin Otter aircraft with some flights being operated with the Short 330, and Apollo Airways operating Handley Page Jetstreams with five nonstop flights every weekday from Santa Barbara (SBA) with this Apollo service featuring connecting flights via Santa Barbara from the California cities of Bakersfield (BFL), Fresno (FAT), Monterey (MRY), Oakland (OAK), Sacramento (SMF), San Francisco (SFO) and San Jose (SJC).[15]
Oxnard never received scheduled jet service; however, the airport did haveEmbraer EMB-120 Brasilia propjet service operated byWestAir asUnited Express nonstop to San Francisco (SFO) in the 1990s. By 2001,America West Express operated byMesa Airlines via acode sharing agreement withAmerica West Airlines was flying nonstop service toPhoenix (PHX) withde Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 propjets.[16] Most service was operated toLAX with a few flights to Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and other cities at this time. In 1985, Evergreen Airspur, a division ofEvergreen International Airlines, was operatingde Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters to LAX.[17] In 1987 Resort Commuter Airlines was operating nonstop service to LAX as aTrans World Express air carrier on behalf ofTrans World Airlines (TWA).[18] By 1988 Qwest Air was flying nonstop service to San Diego (SAN) and Sacramento (SMF) withDornier 228 commuter turboprops.[19] Also during the late 1980s into the mid-1990s, two airlines were flying Oxnard-LAX service:American Eagle operated byWings West flyingFairchild Swearingen Metroliner propjets andUnited Express operated byWestAir flyingBritish AerospaceBAe Jetstream 31 propjets.[20] The United Express service would later be taken over bySkyWest Airlines with this airline operatingEmbraer EMB-120 Brasilias. United Express subsequently ended all scheduled passenger flights at the airport and Oxnard no longer has passenger airline service but is served by two cargo airlines.
California Air Shuttle was a commuter airline based at the Oxnard Airport.[21] In 1990, it briefly operated nonstop service with aSwearingen Metro II propjet aircraft between the airport and Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento.[22] This new start-up air carrier quickly went out of business.
Oxnard Airport covers 230acres (93ha) at anelevation of 45 feet (14 m) abovemean sea level. Its onerunway, 7/25, is 5,953 by 100 feet (1,814 x 30 m) asphalt.[1] Fuel, parking and hangar space is available from private vendors at the airport.[23]
In 2010 the airport had 55,323 aircraft operations, average 151 per day: 92%general aviation, 8%air taxi, and <1%military. 157 aircraft were then based at this airport: 79% single-engine, 17% multi-engine, and 5%helicopter.[1]
In 2025, arecreational skydiving company began offeringtandem jumps with five- to seven-minute fall within sight of the Pacific Ocean. Formerly based at theCamarillo Airport, the move allowed take off and touchdown to occur at the airport. Alanding zone in Somis was used when taking off from the Camarillo Airport which was retained for use when themarine layer is thick in Oxnard.[24]
AXIS Air – A full-service FBO offering premium hangar leasing, aircraft parking, fueling, ground handling, and concierge services. Located on the Oxnard Airport ramp, AXIS Air’s facility also includes the historic DC-3 Mainliner, adding both heritage and inspiration to the airport experience.
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Ameriflight | Seasonal:Burbank |
A single-engineMooney M20C private plane crashed on July 10, 2022, into the airport fence along South Ventura Road during final approach while attempting to land.[25] The pilot had minor injuries and the road was closed until the damaged plane could be removed.[26] The fire department reported that the pilot got out of the aircraft on his own and that a fuel spill had occurred.[27]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency