LA City Council to analyze increase in charter flights at Van Nuys Airport
Los Angeles City Council on Friday voted to take a look at the increasingly popular chartered and private flights out of Van Nuys Airport.
Residents have complained about the issue for months, noting that the constant noise, pollution and safety concerns are affecting their day-to-day well-being.
"They fly at all hours of the day and night. Any given time in the middle of the night I can wake up and I'll hear a jet taking off," said Suzanne Gutierrez, who lives about a block from the airport.
According to data out of Van Nuys, there were nearly 5,600 jet operations in October alone, which translates to about 180 per day and one every eight minutes.
The increased frequency of operations has many parents concerned, especially because many of the flights travel directly over Valley Charter Middle School.
"The kids know when the jets are flying over and coming in for landing," says Gutierrez, who also has a child at the school. She notes that the teachers have to stop teaching because the noise is so overwhelming. "The kids stop talking and they just have to wait, and this happens all the time."
The Executive Director of the school said that they contact Los Angeles World Airports to express their concerns over the constant burden.
For Sue Steinberg, who has lived in the area since 1986, Van Nuys Airport is not the same place as it was when she moved in nearly 40 years ago.
"I liken it to you had a cute little garden lizard in your backyard, well now we have Godzilla."
One of the biggest points of conflict is the frequency with which celebrities utilize the airport, something that made headlines earlier in 2022, tied to names like the Kardashians and Jenners.
"It's really nice that that's convenient for the rich and famous to fly out of Van Nuys Airport," Steinberg said. "But you know what's really inconvenient, not being able to breathe."
Steinberg and Gutierrez are among the many Van Nuys residents who are calling for an immediate change to operations, including airport safety itself.
Since it's a General Aviation Airport, there is no Transportation Security Administration. This means no metal detectors and no baggage checks.
Even with all of the concerns, they aren't looking for the airport to close, they just want to see some changes made before something tragic happens.
"I don't want to see the airport closed, but it's overgrown and it's a location that never should have happened," Steinberg said. "They never should have allowed this many jets in and out of here."
The City Council motion, which calls for LAWA and the LA City Attorney to submit reports on how they plan to address the increased practice of chartered flights, was originally introduced by then-President Nury Martinez, who has since resigned in the wake of a racially-charged scandal.
When approached for comment, Los Angeles World Airports issued a statement to CBS, which said:
"Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is actively engaged in discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), neighborhood associations, private pilots, businesses and the community at large about the issues that impact our neighbors. Our proactive efforts include our Quieter Nights Program, to help reduce jet noise overnight, and incentivizing the adoption of unleaded aviation fuel and increasing access to sustainable aviation fuel. We will continue to communicate with the FAA regarding community concerns related to scheduled charter operations, which the FAA has said are permissible under federal rules."
