Van Nuys Airport Business Sector Flying High
A dramatic increase in corporate aviation coupled with a decline in recreational flying has transformed Van Nuys Airport “into a vitally important business airport,” according to an updated economic impact study released Tuesday.
Airport officials released the report, which supports the economic validity of the airfield, just as state-mandated hearings began Monday scrutinizing a wide range of noise issues that have escalated for years. Findings in the report will be used by airport officials to justify continuing operations at Van Nuys, even though noise levels exceed state limits.
The economic study, commissioned by the Los Angeles city Department of World Airports, concludes the airport contributes more than $1.2 billion annually to the Southern California economy and generates more than 10,000 jobs.
That’s up from 8,751 jobs and a $940.5-million impact in 1991.
The most notable increase in jobs and revenues was found in private air charter and corporate aviation, according to the report by Wilbur Smith Associates of Columbia, S.C. The study also found that as commercial air travel increased in the region and across the nation, so too has business travel out of Van Nuys, which has long been--and continues to be--the world’s busiest general aviation airport.
The change results in “a huge economic impact that this report only begins to address,” the study concludes. Since much of the latest growth is in the use of large corporate jets, the widespread regional impact of goods and services provided as a result “pale in comparison” with actual airport data, the report suggests.
Release of the report, based on studies last year, “was expedited because it is part of the evidence in the noise hearings,” airport spokeswoman Stacy Geere said. She said economic updates are periodically conducted by the department for each of its five airports, but the latest at Van Nuys is particularly significant because the previous study was done at the height of a recession.
“Basically, the economy has grown significantly, as well as the general aviation industry, since the last economic study was conducted,” Geere said. “So the growth in corporate business reflects the more robust economy as compared to the conditions that existed in 1991.”
At the request of two Valley legislators, the state Department of Transportation ordered public hearings be conducted to review a crucial permit, called a variance, that allows the airport to continue operations. As a result of the hearings, last conducted a decade ago, an administrative law judge could impose new restrictions on operations.
A large number of airport businesses and neighbors, as well as representatives of homeowners, area economists and state and local representatives, are scheduled to testify at the hearings. Administrative Law Judge Samuel Reyes is conducting the hearings, expected to continue at least through Sept. 24 at the Airtel Plaza Hotel adjacent to the airport.
Among operations under attack at the airport is the use of older, noisier corporate jet aircraft and a proliferation of helicopters that are exempt from airport curfews.
Of the new jobs created at the airport since 1991, a substantial portion--22%--was reported in aviation-related jobs over the past seven years, the study found. The airport also created new non-aviation jobs in businesses such as restaurants and taxi services.
And because much of that increase involves corporate aircraft, many of the newer jobs are for typically high-paying, skilled positions, such as jet pilots and maintenance workers, who have replaced positions that supported the dwindling number of recreational fliers, the study found.
Also, corporate and charter aircraft generally are operated more frequently than recreational planes, which has resulted in more flights in and out of Van Nuys even though the number of aircraft based at the field has steadily fallen for two or more decades.
The number of propeller planes at Van Nuys has decreased from 836 in 1986 to 538 last year, while the number of jets in the same period grew steadily from 61 to 107.
As more corporate and charter aircraft are squeezed out of commercial airports, the demand--and cost--of hangar space at Van Nuys has risen--forcing recreational users to seek cheaper, less crowded airfields, the study found.
Airport officials said they expect to distribute results of the economic update to community leaders and political representatives.
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Economic Tail Winds
A study indicates the number of jobs and the economic impact generated by Van Nuys Airport has risen substantially as the airport shifted more toward commercial aviation.
Source: Wilbur Smith Associates
