Van Nuys Airport

History

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. 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 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.

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 20 mi trip to LAX, helping to alleviate freeway and LAX parking congestion.

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

On January 27, 2026, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board voiced alarm about a potential mid-air collision that could happen between flights at Van Nuys Airport and Burbank Airport, given the mixing of commercial, private, and helicopter traffic.

Facilities

Van Nuys Airport covers 725 acre and has two runways:

• 16R/34L: 8001 x, asphalt
• 16L/34R: 4013 x, asphalt

Airline and destinations

| Aero | Charter: Aspen, Heber City, Las Vegas, Teterboro, Thermal, San José del Cabo, Sun Valley
Seasonal charter: Napa

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 525 Citation CJ1 twin-engine jet departing for Long Beach Airport crashed 0.5 mi 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.
• 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.
• 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.{{cite news | access-date= 2015-01-09 | 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
• On September 11, 2020, a small plane crashed into a parking lot on Hayvenhurst Avenue after takeoff, killing both the pilot and passenger.{{cite news

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 T-6 Texans for airshows and flyovers.

Filming location

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 (1942) were filmed at Van Nuys Airport, at the time known as Metropolitan Airport.
• The airport was used for landing the 747 in the film Executive Decision (1996), referred to as 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 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 (Season 5), Alias, JAG, T. J. Hooker, and 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, 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 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"
• 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)

References

References

1. "History of Aircraft Operations".
2. (November 2016). "Van Nuys Airport Economic Impact Study". [[Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation]] Institute for Applied Economics.
3. Aidan Lau. (30 June 2022). "Van Nuys Airport Recognizes Users for Quiet Jet Ops {{!}} AIN". Aviation International News.
4. "VNY Airport History, Part 1".
5. "VNY Airport History, Part 2".
6. Lindahl, Chris. (27 January 2026). "Burbank Airport At Risk Of Deadly Mid-Air Crash, Federal Investigator Says".
7. "Visiting Aspen? | Engel & Völkers - Gestalt Group".
8. (November 10, 2025). "Aero airline moves to Heber Valley Airport for ski season".
9. (October 9, 2024). "Private jet airline Aero to launch flights between Los Angeles and Las Vegas". AeroTime.
10. (3 March 2025). "Aero Technologies Is Cleared For Takeoff".
11. (August 30, 2024). "Aero resuming flights to Napa County Airport". North Bay Business Journal.
12. (2007-01-12). "Two Killed In Van Nuys Jet Crash". [[KNBC]].
13. (25 November 2008). "Plane Slides to Stop on Runway". NBC Los Angeles.
14. "Condor Squadron Home page". Condor Squadron Officer's & Airmen's Association Inc..
15. McGarry, T. W.. (January 19, 1986). "'Casablanca' Filmed Elsewhere : At Burbank Airport, a Myth Is Just a Myth". Los Angeles Times.