As a senior at Santa Monica High School, Paul Herrera was given the opportunity that would set him on his career path – he learned how to fly propeller planes on a scholarship given by Santa Monica Airport.
“I put my name in the hat for consideration, and that is what started my fascination for continuing in this journey as part of airport management,” Herrera said.
Herrera became manager at Van Nuys Airport in January, a position that puts him in charge of one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country. With nearly 300,000 total aircraft operations last year – 23% being jets – the San Fernando Valley airfield is an economic engine for businesses that fly out of it and for those located at the airport, which Herrera said numbers about 200. He spoke with the Business Journal about what the airport is doing to attract aircraft operators, the importance of it to the region and planned infrastructure projects at the facility.
What is the importance of Van Nuys Airport to the region?
It is a huge benefit to have a reliever airport, which is what we are, so that we can help the congestion into and out of Los Angeles International Airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport, John Wayne Airport by having general aviation aircraft come to general aviation airports. We have 300,000 operations a year here, over 5,000 jet operations a month. That traffic will eventually go into the LAX, causing delays if they don’t have other places to go. It is extremely important to have airports like Torrance, Hawthorne, Van Nuys, Camarillo, Whiteman to be options for general aviation aircraft operators to fly into.
It is also a great generator of future aviators and pilots. There is a significant pilot shortage. There is a shortage of airplane power plant mechanics that are learning to fix these airplanes. There are vessels that are transporting people, not only 1 percenters, but people who are employed by different corporations being flown from point A to point B across the country, if not the world, for work. I think it is a huge asset to the San Fernando Valley to have the Van Nuys Airport in its backyard. It is a way for students to learn about aviation, to get a well-paying job as a mechanic or to learn how to fly at one of the flight schools here at the airport.
What is the airport doing to prepare for electric airplanes?
We’ve been working with the manufacturers of EVTOLs (electric vertical take and landing aircraft) and identifying places they can potentially operate out of. We are mindful of helicopter routes and how it has an effect on the neighboring communities. So, we’ve identified some locations around the airport where EVTOLs could potentially operate from and we’re seeing the pros and cons of different locations. As it relates to electrification, we have to be mindful of the power grid and how right now we are struggling with just simple EV charging station for vehicles and how having EV charging stations for aircraft will be a challenge for us to overcome. We are excited about this because it is going to make the noise footprint around the airport much quieter than it is today and definitely much quieter than it was 30 years ago.
Do you have any sense of when the first electric aircraft will fly out of Van Nuys?
Here at Van Nuys, I am not aware of any aircraft that have arrived or departed with full electrification. I suspect that we will see some of the EVTOL helicopter operations, rotorcraft electrification, here at Van Nuys probably in the next 12 to 24 months.
What steps is VNY taking, if any, to make VNY more enticing for air charter operations and fliers?
I don’t know about enticing as much as finding ways to develop and redevelop existing structures that are in great need of improvement. There are areas of the airport that are older facilities that need to be modernized. Some of the buildings we have here date back to the 1940s and 1950s. So clearly a need for us to be mindful that we are one of the premier general aviation airports in the country and some of these old structures were used in World War II and don’t have a lot of the modern improvements to be caught up with the times. That does attract business, it does attract aircraft operators to operate in and out of the airport. But we are definitely trying to find that balance of how best to be caretakers of 730 acres here. We are going to be focused on delivering certain RFPs to award leases so that businesses and investors can develop these structures on the land here so that we can continue to provide a service to aircraft operators. Whether that be Part 91, when you own your aircraft or if you are hiring a company to fly people around, whether that be fractional ownership or quarter-share ownership of aircraft. I think that it’s important to be mindful of the different avenues of business that exist here. We try to see all the elements of responsibility that we have as an airport sponsor and also try to be a good neighbor to the neighboring communities. That is the balance that is at times challenging as we continue to see significant growth in business, corporate jet operations here at Van Nuys Airport.
What is your take on the reasons why the number of air charter operations at VNY has declined over the past year?
My understanding is the numbers have increased. During the pandemic there were a lot of corporations who elected to have their employees travel on Part 135 (air charter) operators. Since 2019, and really for the last decade, we have seen a significant increase in jet operations at the airport. I think we’ve seen that plateau, but I don’t see the numbers declining necessarily. We have seen the number of jet operations has increased and will continue to increase into the future.
In recent, years, residents near Santa Monica Airport have applied pressure and now that airport faces shutdown in 2028. Something similar appears to be going on at Whiteman Airport, though for somewhat different reasons. How concerned are you about increased pressure from neighboring residents to shut down – or at least throttle back on – flights at VNY?
It is concerning to hear about any of our general aviation airports across the country closing. We used to have so many more airstrips here in Southern California, and to see them slowly close because of opposition from the neighboring communities is concerning because the more we have congestion and have folks wanting to travel for business or for pleasure there is congestion in the skies.
The more that we close these airports we are going to congest the airspace in and out of our commercial airports. It is concerning that it is happening in the region.
I am confident it will not happen at Van Nuys Airport. Not only do we have obligations to the federal government for the land that we have under LAWA ownership and responsibility, we are at the end of the day an airport sponsor. We sponsor this airport being here and we need to be good caretakers of the land and make sure we find a balance with our inside-the-fence tenants as well as the neighboring communities that sit outside the fence. What is happening at Santa Monica is concerning, and it is increasing operations here at Van Nuys. While that may sound good from a business standpoint, it is going to put more pressure on the airport to be able to handle that capacity. It is still not completely finalized for the city of Santa Monica and Santa Monica Airport; I think it still needs to be voted on as they go forward. But there is a high probability that the airport will close, which is very concerning.Â
There is concern among local residents impacted by noise from VNY flight operations that the airport is exceeding FAA limits on the number of planes each year with passengers that are allowed to depart VNY. Has the airport come close to the FAA limits on departures of planes with passengers, and what steps is VNY taking to monitor and/or address this situation?
There are no caps in terms of aircraft operations, there is no curfew. A lot of what you see is market driven. We are mindful of having a balance with our recreational pilots, folks who own small, general aviation propellor-driven aircraft. We are mindful that we need to have a corporation store and/or have aircraft service here with maintenance, repair and overhaul stations that have a presence here. Just the number of jobs that are created, there are 5,000 to 10,000 direct and indirect jobs connected to the airport. There are opportunities here to learn how to fly and to get a mechanics license to work on airplanes and put food on the table. So there is a significant need for us to maintain this facility as an employer for many of the businesses present at the airport. I am not aware of any concern about reaching a capacity. I do see the potential closure of Santa Monica Airport and Whiteman Airport increasing to that volume. At some point we do have to be mindful there are no places to park airplanes, and we will reach a saturation point, but for now we are managing the aircraft that have selected Van Nuys as a destination.
What infrastructure improvements are on tap for VNY?
We continuously seek grant funding for a variety of projects. We completed programs that equated to over $63 million in infrastructure improvements, much of that federally funded, in 2022. We spent over $13 million on (repairs of runway) One-Six Left and did a slurry project on One-Six Right. We improved the lighting for pilots that are landing and departing on our runways with an LED lighting system. We are making significant improvements in solar and improvements that would improve sustainability. We are looking at grant funding that would help us with unleaded jet gasoline as that continues to evolve. We are currently discussing intersecting taxiways that need to be rehabilitated on the airfield. That would be a project that would be grant-funded. So there are a lot of opportunities here, especially with the award of leases for dilapidated sites that need to be invested in.