California’s Van Nuys airport is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the world, located in the San Fernando valley within Los Angeles city limits it sees over 200,000 take offs per year and in 2018 was one of the safest airports in North America. This was highlighted in a report from the LA Board of Airport Commissions that was released earlier this week. The FAA has identified taxiway and runway incursions as a major safety and security issue for airports across the United States.
2018 saw Van Nuys having a flawless incursion record. The airport authority credits this to changes to its regulations that it started imposing in 2015, some of which were mandatory while others voluntary. The new regulations include administrative citations and revocation of air-side driving permissions for violators as well as closing close to 40 percent of air-side access gates. Van Nuys has seen a declining incursion trend which went from four incidents in 2015 down to one in 2017 and non in 2018.
Deborah Flint, CEO of Los Angeles World Airports said that “With more than 260,000 takeoffs and landings in 2018, Van Nuys Airport attracts a high level of aircraft operations and diverse business activities on a daily basis. VNY’s tremendous success is the result of close collaboration among airport management, tenants, users, and operators to implement ambitious and industry-leading safety and security programs.”
Van Nuys airport (KVNY) serves as a base for countless private aircraft as well as many news, medical transport and tour agencies and is also home to the Van Nuys FlyAway bus service which provides transportation to Los Angeles International (KLAX). The airport is home to 2 parallel runways with 16R/34L being just over 8,000 feet. The airport has also served as the back drop for many classic films and television show as well as some well known music videos.