Van Nuys Airport (VNY), located in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, CA, is a general aviation airport. It is a favorite of celebrities and politicians because it offers convenient travel options and some degree of anonymity. The location, only 30 minutes from Downtown LA, makes it an excellent choice for business and professionals to schedule private jet charter flights from.

The Van Nuys Airport is located in the San Fernando Valley

The Van Nuys Airport is located in the San Fernando Valley

The airport, which is owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports, is considered to be among the busiest general aviation airports in the world and operates with two parallel runways. One, 16R/34L is 8,001 feet long and the other,16L/34R is 4,011 feet long. Runway lengths like these make Van Nuys allow charter passengers to choose the perfect private jet craft to meet their travel needs.

Van Nuys Airport opened in 1928, only 25 years after Orville and Wilbur Wright’s Wright Flyer first achieved sustained powered flight, on 80 acres of land. Today, the airport spans 725 acres.

FlyAway® Bus service is available offering nonstop service to Los Angeles International Airports for travelers who park in Van Nuys.

The Van Nuys Airport is located only 30 minutes from downtown Los Angeles

The Van Nuys Airport is located only 30 minutes from downtown Los Angeles

Van Nuys and Service

Van Nuys Airport, in addition to serving as the home base for many news and movie industry helicopters is also home to the Air Operations Unit of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The airport is also home to the maintenance hub for the City of Los Angeles and is used for staging the maintenance of all LAPD and LADWP helicopters.

Van Nuys Airport and its Mark on Pop Culture

Van Nuys Airport has been featured in a wide range of film and television episodes, including the iconic film Casablanca along with science fiction film Silent Running. Other classic films that were filmed, at least in part, at Van Nuys include: Hell’s Angels, Storm Over the Andes, Men with Wings, and Lost Horizon.

In the classic film Casablanca, we see glimpses of the Van Nuys Airport

In the classic film Casablanca, we see glimpses of the Van Nuys Airport

Modern films, including True Lies, Pearl Harbor, and Lethal Weapon also had scenes filmed at Van Nuys Airport. Television series such as 24 and Entourage also filmed various scenes at the airport as well.

Perhaps the most important pop culture fact about the airport though is the discovery of Marilyn Monroe who was working on an aircraft assembly line at the Lockheed Corporation aircraft modification plant onsite at the time.

Private aviation has a long history in and around Los Angeles. Van Nuys plays an important role in much of that history as the location where the men’s solo endurance record of 37 hours was set in 1929.

Then there was the women’s endurance record of 42 hours in 1929. It’s also the location of the women’s speed record of 196 mph set, in 1930, by Florence “Pancho” Barnes.

Presidential Aviation offers private jet charters to and from Van Nuys Airport. Call today to schedule your private charter jet flight or to get more information about the aircraft we have available to service the area.