Van Nuys Airport
Aerial view of Van Nuys Airport in 2021.
IATA:VNY ICAO:KVNY FAALID:VNY
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	City of Los Angeles
Operator	Los Angeles World Airports
Serves	Greater Los Angeles
Location	Van Nuys,California,U.S.
Opened	December 17, 1928; 96 years ago (1928-12-17)
Operating base for	Aero
Elevation AMSL	244 m / 802 ft
Coordinates	34°12′35″N118°29′24″W / 34.20972°N 118.49000°W /34.20972; -118.49000
Website	iflyvny.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
VNY Location Show map of the Los Angeles metropolitan area VNY VNY (California) Show map of California VNY VNY (the United States) Show map of the United States VNY VNY (North America) Show map of North America
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 16R/34L 2,439 8,001 Asphalt 16L/34R 1,223 4,013 Asphalt
Statistics
Aircraft operations (2020) 232,000[1] Economic impact (2015) US$2 billion[2] Social impact (2015) 10,480 jobs[2]

Van Nuys Airport (IATA:VNY,ICAO:KVNY,FAALID:VNY) is a publicairport in theVan Nuys neighborhood of theCity of Los Angeles. The airport is operated byLos Angeles World Airports (LAWA), a branch of theLos Angeles city government, which also operatesLos Angeles International Airport (LAX). Van Nuys is one of the busiestgeneral aviation airports in the world, with the airport's two parallelrunways 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 theLos Angeles City Fire Department, and a maintenance base forLos Angeles Police Department andLos Angeles Department of Water and Power helicopters.

Originally opened asMetropolitan Airport on December 17, 1928, the airport became theVan Nuys Army Airfield during World War II, was renamed theSan Fernando Valley Airport after the war, before taking its current name in 1957.

The airport is also home to LAWA'sFlyAway 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.^[3]

Van Nuys Airport opened on December 17, 1928, the 25th anniversary of theWright 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 forgeneral 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 filmCasablanca.^[4] Also notable were the scenes of the reckless flight (and other scenes) ofLaurel and Hardy in the 1939 filmThe Flying Deuces.

In 1942, after the United States enteredWorld 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 the4th Air Force, which stationed the428th Fighter Squadron withLockheed 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 andLockheed 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.^[4]

In 1949, after the war, theCity of Los Angeles purchased the airport from theWar Assets Administration for $1, with the agreement that aCalifornia 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.^[4]

In the 1950s, the California Air National Guard basedNorth 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, theSherman Way underpass was finished, allowing the main runway (16R/34L) to be extended to its current length of 8,001 feet (2,439 m). 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.^[4]

In 1975, the Los Angeles Department of Airports (todayLos Angeles World Airports) built theFlyAway 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 20-mile (32 km) trip to LAX, helping to alleviate freeway and LAX parking congestion.^[5]

The California Air National Guard moved out of Van Nuys in 1990, with the146th Airlift Wing shifting toNaval Air Station Point Mugu (nowNaval Base Ventura County) inOxnard. In 1994, the now-vacated National Guard buildings became a critical operating site for theAmerican Red Cross helping victims of the devastatingNorthridge earthquake. In the early 2000s, the facility was converted into air operations and helicopter maintenance facilities for the Los Angeles Fire Department.^[5]

In the 2020s Van Nuys remains one of the world's busiest general aviation airports, with 232,000 aircraft operations in 2020.^[1] A 2015 study found that the airport generatesUS$2 billion of economic impact and has created 10,480 jobs^[2]

Van Nuys Airport covers 725 acres (293 ha) and has tworunways:

• 16R/34L: 8,001 ft × 150 ft (2,439 m × 46 m),asphalt
• 16L/34R: 4,013 ft × 75 ft (1,223 m × 23 m), asphalt

This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• 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, aKTTV news helicopter, "Sky Fox 2", a secondary helicopter that was previously owned byKTLA, crashed at Van Nuys airport after experiencing problems while covering theAcademy Awards.
• ACessna 525 Citation CJ1 twin-engine jet departing forLong Beach Airport crashed 0.5 miles (1 km) 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.^[11]
• On November 25, 2008, aCessna 310 carrying two people experiencedlanding gear problems. After burning off fuel, it was able to land on the runway without incident, although its front gear collapsed upon landing.^[12]
• On January 9, 2015, aLancair 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 andJet Propulsion Laboratory robotics engineer, was killed.^[13][14]
• On September 11, 2020, a small plane crashed into a parking lot on Hayvenhurst Avenue after takeoff, killing both the pilot and passenger.^[15]

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 ofT-6 Texans for airshows and flyovers.^[16]

This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Van Nuys Airport" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Van Nuys Airport has been the location of many film, television, and music video shoots.

• Parts of the climactic scene of the filmCasablanca (1942) were filmed at Van Nuys Airport, at the time known as Metropolitan Airport.^[17]
• The airport was used for landing the 747 in the filmExecutive Decision (1996), referred to asFrederick Field
• The dramatic ending of thefilm noirArmored Car Robbery (1950) takes place at what was then Los Angeles Metropolitan Airport. AntagonistWilliam Talman and his burlesque queen girlfriendAdele Jergens are attempting to escape by chartered airplane. Cornered by DetectiveCharles McGraw, Talman runs and is killed on the runway by a landing airplane.
• InOne 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 pictureSilent 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.

• Many television shows have filmed at the airport, including an episode of the TV showAlias, and several episodes of Season 5 of24.
• The 1980s action-espionage seriesAirwolf used the Van Nuys Airport hangars regularly as the site of "Santini Air", the charter air service company owned and operated byErnest Borgnine's character (Dominic Santini) in the series.
• In the last episode of Season 1 of theHBO seriesEntourage, the final scene takes place at Van Nuys Airport, whereVincent Chase and company take off forNew York City. It was also used in the fourth season whenKanye West offers the group a plane ride on aMarquis Jet toCannes. In Season 5 episode 7, Chase andAri Gold run into each other in a hangar as each are about to depart on separate flights toGeneva, Switzerland andHawaii, respectively. The last episode of season 6, episode 12, is used as a location where Chase and his crew run intoMatt 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.

• 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"
• Metallica's music video for "The Memory Remains"
• Blink-182's music video for "All The Small Things"
• Air Supply's first music video for "Making Love Out of Nothing At All"
• Kiss's music video for "God Gave Rock and Roll To You 2"
• Michael Jackson's music video for "Stranger In Moscow" (1996)

 This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• FAA Airport Form 5010 for VNYPDF

Wikimedia Commons has media related toVan Nuys Airport.

• Official website
• openNav: VNY / KVNY charts
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective March 20, 2025
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNavairport information for KVNY
  • ASNaccident history for VNY
  • FlightAwareairport information andlive flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS weather observations:current,past three days
  • SkyVectoraeronautical chart for KVNY
  • FAAcurrent VNY delay information
• Facebook:Van Nuys Airport (VNY)
• Twitter:@VanNuysAirport

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

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Pages with non-numeric formatnum arguments
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Articles needing additional references from September 2024
• All articles needing additional references
• Articles needing additional references from January 2019
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2019
• All articles containing potentially dated statements
• Pages using the Kartographer extension